


Bittersweet

by snuff



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, Fem! Levi, and Eren keeps paying for it, basically Levi is heartless, because there isn't enough of that here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-02-09 14:17:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 22,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1986144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snuff/pseuds/snuff
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Levi is a witch who never really knew her boundaries, but never bothered to find out. </p><p>Eren is the new English teacher in Trost High who has fallen as a teenage witch's newest victim.</p><p>Only nothing good can come when love is played with. And surely only disaster will follow the use of a love potion. But hell if Levi cares.</p><p>*Rating might change depending of future chapters*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Just a Taste

**Author's Note:**

> My first shot at a multi chapter fanfic and I am kinda nervous about where I will take this, but that is something I will pocket to worry about later.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! And I'm still doing the fem! Eren one shot thing so you can leave requests for that or requests for anything really. I'd be happy to write what you guys want.
> 
> UNBETA'D so tell me if there are any mistakes.

"No, Hanji. I am  _not_ using a love potion to get a date for senior prom."   


"But it's the only way! Unless you wanna go alone and embarrass yourself!" 

"I don't need to go to prom. I'll just stay home and watch a movie or something." Levi picked and prodded aimlessly at her lunch, only half-listening to what Hanji was saying.

"You're always like this! You know, one day when you're wrinkly and suffocating in cat fur, you will regret not listening to me!" Levi only rolled her eyes and pushed her food away from her. It was starting to make her sick.

"Oh, Hanji. When I am old and wrinkly and can't even control my own shit, I still wouldn't care." Hanji's wide smile didn't fade in the slightest and she swallowed down the final remnants of her lunch. Then she reached into her small purse and pulled out a small bottle of red liquid that looked like wine, but Levi knew what it was.

"Fine, but take this." She placed it on the table in front of her best friend and stood up. "In case you change your mind." She threw over her shoulder before skipping away, leaving Levi alone at the table, with the love potion glaring at her with its tempting stare. 

"Shitty Glasses." Levi mumbled right before the bell rang, signalling the end of lunch period. Making sure nobody saw the small container, Levi snatched it as if it had offended her and hid it--neatly--in her backpack. 

As she entered her final class for the day--English--she found a new teacher whom seemed so much younger than their previous teacher, Mr. Pixis. His eyes were glued to a paper on his desk, scanning it desperately; probably trying to memorise it.

She only spared him a glance before taking her usual seat in the back, where she was only visible from a few certain angles. Students continued to file in until the second bell. The new teacher stood up as soon as he heard it and shut the door. Meanwhile, the entire class watched him curiously.

He regarded them shortly, face blank, before turning to the whiteboard and writing, in all-caps: **EREN JAEGER**.

A girl in the class sat up immediately and, with a poorly hidden flirtatious tone, asked, "Jaeger? You're German, sir?" 

"Yes, I am." He answered smoothly, his face preserving it's stoic expression. "And if you have trouble pronouncing my name, feel free to call me Mister Eren." A few acknowledging nods and hums were heard before the teacher--Mister Jaeger, Levi noted--began to quickly list his rules. They were all the regular rules teachers placed, none of them really stood out. Levi only noted that he was slightly less strict than most teachers, unlike his stoic expression that seemed to turn his face to stone. 

'He'd be fun to mess with', Levi thought with a small smirk playing on her lips. 

Afterwards, Mr. Jaeger dived straight into a lesson about the use of elements of literature in the Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven. Levi didn't pay much attention, opting to think of all the ways she could drive this guy insane. 

She watched how he spoke. Noted how he previously seemed very well put together, but as he dug deeper into the subject of the English Language, there was this interesting spark in his eyes and a smile threatened at the corners of his lips.

Levi decided she was going to ruin the professional exterior he attempted to put on. Not too much. Just enough to drive him mad for a few days.

With a swirl and a swing of her finger under the desk, Levi cast a truth spell on her teacher. Levi wasn't surprised when he continued speaking normally about his admiration for the poet and his works, albeit a bit disappointed. Still, she waited for anything other than the honest smile on his face that he didn't notice he was wearing. 

A couple of minutes later, she decided the wait was becoming a bit too boring and this was going nowhere unless something else interfered. Shifting slightly so she would be able to point her index finger at the girl who had spoken to Mr. Jaeger earlier, Levi then began casting a truth spell on her too. 

The girl suddenly sat up in her seat and raised her hand eagerly. 

"Yes, miss--" She didn't even finish before confessing.

"For a teacher, you're really damn hot." She said simply. Levi kept her face blank and uninterested as to not reveal anything. Mr. Jaeger blushed and cleared his throat awkwardly. Levi noticed how he seemed to be holding back from saying something and she thought he might be internally fighting her spell. It wasn't a completely farfetched thought. After all, her magic still was not strong enough to stand against all mortals, but it was still temporarily effective. 

"That is completely inappropriate, miss Collins." He mumbled, then continued the lesson albeit avoiding Amanda Collins's row entirely. When he began talking about Poe's death was when things got interesting. Mr. Jaeger was beginning to sweat and stutter, and the struggle to swallow the truth and keep it from revealing itself was visible.

Levi concealed a smirk and watched as her teacher seemed to slowly give up. She had no idea what he was going to confess, but it was definitely not the words that followed.

"...They say he m-might have d-died of too much..." He paused and leaned against his desk as he breathed in and out slowly, trying to compose himself, "alcohol." It was a few seconds later that the truth finally pushed its way out, "I nearly died of an overdose," it didn't sound like he was resisting it anymore,  and the words slipped out of his mouth like a practiced sentence that couldn't wait to be said, "with drugs, that is." He then looked up and Levi could see so many emotions on his face that she couldn't pick out one. 

Deeming it to be enough torture for the day, Levi freed him of the spell right before the final bell rang. Everybody stood up in a hurry, eyeing Mr. Jaeger worriedly as they walked out. He was still using the desk as support since it seemed like was about to collapse. From the exhaustion of resisting the spell or the grief behind the truth, Levi couldn't tell. But she didn't care much, so as she walked out, she didn't spare her teacher a second glance, just as she had when she first walked in, and went about her day without even feeling the slightest pang of remorse. 

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's short. It's 6 AM and I still haven't gotten any sleep.
> 
> *unbeta'd*


	2. Dancing Sea of Gold

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of backstory and the beginning of something.

The following day was cold and rainy. Torrents of rain drenched everything in its wake, and thunder roared every now and then. It was expected that students would be let out early due to the storm, but no such thing happened. 

And Hanji was not helping Levi's already crappy mood. 

"Let me go, Four-Eyes." Levi tried to shake Hanji's hands off of her arm, but she only tightened her grip. 

"Levi, I hate thunder." She said in a quiet voice, as if it would hear her if she spoke too loud.

"What the hell is so scary about thunder?" Levi asked incredulously. Hanji moved closer to her best friend, and Levi cringed when he could feel her breath on her face as she spoke.

"It's loud and just...angry." Levi scowled at her. 

"If you don't let go of me right now, I will drag you outside and tie you up to a tree." She warned. Hanji let go of her arm as if it had burned her and stepped away from the angry teen.

"You're especially grumpy today. What's wrong?" She asked as she walked beside Levi on their way to their fourth period for the day. 

"I'm just not in the mood for school." She said simply as they entered the History classroom. Mr. Arlert greeted them with a friendly smile. Hanji returned the smile while Levi simply ignored it, opting to glare at the person occupying her seat.

"Mr. Eren." She said grabbing his attention. He looked up at her and held her intense gaze curiously. 

"Yes, Miss Ackerman?" 

"My name is Levi and you're in my seat." She didn't care that she was being awfully rude to her superior. Besides, it wasn't his classroom they were in, therefore he didn't have that much authority over her.

He looked confused for a minute before apologizing with a heart throbbing smile and moving to the seat right in front of it. Levi would've told him that seat was taken too, just for the sake of it. But really, nobody ever sat in front of her.

Hanji sat next to her and furrowed her brows at Levi and Mr. Jaeger questioningly. Levi waved her off and drew on her notebook (she would never draw on the desk. It's dirty and a mess to clean up) until the bell rang and Mr. Arlert began explaining another History lesson. 

Levi never messed with him. She tried once, but he did not seem the least bit affected and showed no signs of resistance against any of her charms, which led her to believe he might know more than he should for a mortal. That is, if he is mortal at all. 

Not many wizards and witches liked to live in this world. They used to, a very long time ago. Before they were considered a different species of their own, they lived among regular humans and used their powers to help and serve. Obviously, humans then used wizards and witches for their own needs and began using them as slaves. 

Back then, dark magic was unheard of, and harmful spells were unused and unlearned. Safe to say wizards had kind hearts, until the labor became too much, and souls turned black and dark with hate and anger. Dark spells were thrown here and there, killing and murdering or torturing human souls. 

Humans were smarter than they were given credit for, though, and with the studies and facts they managed to gather from their slaves, they began making potions. Of course, potions needed ingredients that were nearly impossible to find, and many attempts at making new, more fatal potions failed and led to injuries to the scientists and their lab rats. But eventually, they began to fight off all magical creatures with these potions as their weapons, therefore forcing them to hide elsewhere. Most wizards hid underground, where they simply got along with the poor humans who lived there. Others disappeared, leaving no trace behind. Like Levi's parents.

All Levi remembers of her parents is what she learned from people in the underground. Apparently, they hated humans, and thought it would be best to leave Levi with them. Just in case she grew up to be human, too. After all, magic genes were very rare and they were hard to spot until at least reaching the age of 10.

Levi got the hang of it by the age of 8. But with no parents to help her evolve her powers and abilities, she was not as powerful as others. And she definitely would not be able to protect herself if people were to find out about her true identity and possibly study her. 

Levi shivered at the thought.

"...miss Ackerman?" Levi was so lost in these thoughts that she didn't notice the teacher calling her name, nor the worried stare she got from Hanji. 

"Yes?" She pretended she wasn't just lost in a train of thought. She fought off the red tint rushing to her cheeks and put on her usual bored expression. In case it had fallen away in her stupor.

"You seemed a bit distracted. Are you okay?" Mr. Arlert asked kindly. Levi nodded and Arlert flashed her a smile before continuing his explanation. Levi listened to what he said this time, and had to admit to herself for the umpteenth time that she did like him. He was a good teacher and he knew what he was doing. Sure, he was too kind and naive for her taste, but as a teacher, he knew what he was doing. 

Hanji still turned to look at her friend every once in a while, worry evident in her face. Levi knew why she didn't question her about it yet.

Hanji is the daughter of two of the famous scientists who tested and studied immortals. Levi was repelled by this when she first met Hanji, but when Hanji realized the studies of her kind were a touchy subject for the witch, she simply approached her as any other person would and eventually found out that she was a witch.

That didn't put Hanji off in the least. In fact, it made her more open about her studies with potions. That was alright with Levi, as long as she didn't ask to test on her. 

Ah, the love potion, Levi remembered. She still did not plan on using the potion to land herself a date for the senior prom, but it would be such a waste to leave such a valuable potion unused. 

Her gaze shot to the back of Mr. Jaeger's head. This would be fun. Only, who could she make him fall in love with? 

Mr. Armin popped into her head, but she shook it off. She couldn't do that to the poor guy. Besides, she was sure that if she pushed it too far with him, he'd probably figure her out in no time. It was obvious how smart he was, and Levi tried to never forget that.

Mr. Arlert finished explaining quickly and efficiently. Nearly nobody asked any questions and Mr. Arlert smiled at that.

"Well, since we're done, I wanna use this time to introduce Mister Eren Jaeger." He gestured to Mr. Jaeger. "He's a new English teacher and also one of my closest friends. He will be attending this class in his free time so if he doesn't teach you, I don't doubt you'd still see him quite often." 

A chorus of mumbled greetings followed and Mr. Jaeger nodded in reply. The rest of the period was mainly consisted of people talking to Mr. Jaeger and others talking among themselves. Levi went back to her sketches, ignoring the people who pushed their chairs closer to her to talk to Mr. Eren. 

She was thankful when the bell finally rang and stood up before the sound had even registered for the other students. She pulled Hanji with her and exited the class.

"You seem pretty eager to get out of there." Hanji joked. Levi only grunted and stopped in front of her locker. After taking out her own lunch that wasn't filthy and disgusting, she continued to drag Hanji to the cafeteria. 

As soon as they sat down, Hanji started babbling about a new potion she was able to brew and how she still needed to test it but needed a certain breed of rat to get precise and notable results. She finished her rambling then finally took her first bite out of her sandwich. 

"So That Mr. Eren is pretty cute." She wiggled her eyebrows. Levi rolled her eyes.

"He's all right, I guess." She shrugged. Hanji's eyes widened as she took another bite and leaned forward slightly. Levi ate her own sandwich calmly, making sure she didn't get any crumbs anywhere.

"All right? That's it?! Besides, I saw you look at him and then space out." She narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously, "were you daydreaming about your teacher, Levi?" 

"No, shit-head." Although she knew she was telling the truth, Levi still couldn't help the embarrassment and heat in her cheeks.

"Sure, whatever you say." Hanji teased before swallowing the rest of her lunch. Levi still ate delicately. "So did you get a prom date?" She asked, her mouth still full.

"You're still going on about that?" Levi mumbled, shaking her head. "I told you I'm not going to prom. Now let it go." Hanji nodded, disappointment evident in her expression. Lunch period continued silently for the both of them, only the chattering of other students and the occasional roll of thunder interfering with their quiet. 

Levi had French afterwards and Hanji had English. Hanji walked Levi to miss Ackerman's--who is actually related to Levi--class. 

"I'll tell Mr. Cutie you say hi!" She winked before jogging off to her class. Levi wouldn't put It past her to do something like that, but she didn't let it bother her. 

She sat in the same seat she occupies every class. 15 minutes into the lesson, her phone vibrated. She took it out, hiding it behind the desk, and read the text she got from Hanji. 

 _'This guy is too hot. He's gonna be the death of me.'_  

Levi fought the urge to roll her eyes and texted back an 'I don't care.'. Barely even a minute later, she received a picture from the other teen. It was of Mr. Jaeger smiling as he gestured with his hand, probably explaining something. With a barely contained sigh, Levi decided not to reply and locked her phone, noticing her teacher's warning glare. 

When the period ended and students began to file out, Levi followed only to be stopped by her second cousin. Mikasa was also a witch. She was one of the strongest, too. She mostly took care of Levi when she was little until Levi grew up and practically told her to piss off and go bother someone else. Mikasa also wanted to train her to hopefully become as strong as she deserves to be, but she outright refused. 

It wasn't odd, though. Many witches and wizards wanted to teach Levi everything they know, since she was a prodigy considering she got the hang of her powers far too early, but Levi never let them and sought to teach herself everything she needed or wanted to know. 

Mikasa grabbed her arm loosely and led her back into the classroom. 

"I heard you've met Eren." She said quietly. 

"Well, yeah. He's my teacher." Levi replied.

"Don't mess with him," Mikasa said lowering her voice, "He's dangerous." 

"What do you mean?"

"He just is. If you mess with him, it won't end well for either one of you. And he knows about magic, so he could easily find out about you." Levi sighed,  exasperated and waved her off.

"Sure." She said curtly before walking away, sparing her relative a wave of her hand.

Once more, Levi had English for her last period so she didn't let Mikasa's warnings linger in her mind for too long. Thankfully, she didn't run into Hanji on her way to her locker and then to class.

Taking her seat, Levi leaned back in her chair and shut her eyes tightly. She could feel a migraine coming and she tried to will it away, but the pain came anyway.  

The bell rang, making it even worse and she leaned down onto her desk, her forehead resting on one of her arms while the other arm rested over her head, locking her head between both limbs.

She could hear Mr. Jaeger speaking faintly, and noticed when he called her by her last name, but she simply ignored him hoping he would just let her be.

He didn't. And Levi's back prickled with the unfamiliar touch when he tapped her shoulder. She shot up angrily and glared at him.

"What?" She spat, feeling the pain grow worse. 

"Are you feeling okay?" Mr. Jaeger asked worriedly, although he wore an annoyed frown on his face. From this distance, Levi noted, she could see the odd swirl of color in his eyes. It was weird and wonderful. Green and blue dancing against each other in those orbs, and a golden color highlighting his pupil. It was beautiful, she thought beyond her annoyance and anger. 

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Doesn't seem like it." He retorted. Levi opted to ignore him and assumed her previous position. "Miss Ackerman." He called again.

"My name is Levi!" She snapped. The teacher seemed taken aback by her outburst, but the frown returned on his face. 

"Of course." He answered calmly then resumed with the lesson, shooting a few worried glances at Levi.

The final bell rang and the class was empty within seconds. Levi on the other hand fell behind as she struggled with her headache every time she moved. Suddenly, the light seeping through the classroom curtains was too much for her to handle and she cursed under her breath.

"You should've told me if you weren't feeling all right." Mr. Jaeger suddenly appeared at her side, his hands in his pocket. Levi wanted to tell him to shut up. She knew anything she did or said would only make the pain worse so she mustered the most hateful glare she could manage in this state. 

"You can stay here until it goes away," he said sitting down on the desk in front of her so he was facing her, "however, I am staying in case you need anything." 

Silence followed as Levi leaned back in her seat and shut her eyes. She was thankful that Mr. Jaeger was awfully quiet and seemed to understand her situation, but she really would've preferred him not being there at all. It had already been an hour since the migraine began and it didn't seem like it was going away anytime soon. 

She wanted to tell Mr. Jaeger to leave but she couldn't even open her mouth to breathe let alone speak. 

About an hour after the period finished, the pain began receding and Levi found herself smiling in relief. 

"It's better now." She mumbled to no one in particular, her voice quiet in fear of bringing it back. 

"Do you wanna get up or stay for a while longer?" Mr. Eren asked in a smooth voice, equally as quiet.

"I can go now." She opened her eyes to see Mr. Jaeger staring at her. Not in a creepy way, but his brows were furrowed and his lips were drawn upwards slightly. He looked like he was wondering about something. Levi didn't push it, though. She wasn't in the mood. 

She stood up and froze for a few seconds, avoiding the head rush that was bound to come. She then picked up her bag and stood in front of Mr. Jaeger, hoping he would get the message. Eventually she gave up and voiced her thoughts, although timidly.

"Thanks." She mumbled before hurrying out of the classroom, faintly hearing Mr. Eren reply.

As she walked home on the wet ground, with her hood over her head to avoid the tint drops that still fell from the sky, she thought of a few things. 

First, she thought of Mikasa's warning, which led her to think about Mr. Jaeger. He didn't seem dangerous at all to her. If anything, he had this innocent aura around him that she found slightly endearing. Which turned her thoughts to what he had said the say before. About nearly dying of a drug overdose. 

It was all too much for one man, Levi thought. He seemed to have multiple sides. She didn't know whether to believe Mikasa or her own instincts which told her he would be no danger. Not to her, at least. 

She arrived at her apartment shortly after. It wasn't too big of a home. Just two rooms: one bedroom, the other a study room where she kept all things witchcraft. It also had an open living room, a small kitchen, and an even smaller balcony. In her bedroom was one bathroom and that's just about it.

She walked into the study room where there was a Crystal ball she checked every day. It usually never showed anything, meaning there was nothing important in her path, yet. Somehow she didn't expect to see anything this time either, but as she stared at the swirling colors, she noticed them form into a shape. As it cleared out, she noticed what it was and stared at it curiously.

It was a dragon with golden eyes. It breathed fire at nothing in particular. The fire breathing also lookEd out of its control, coming out with every ragged breath it took. 

As the image faded into the swirling colors once more, Levi got a dreadful feeling that made a home in the pit of its stomach and when she went to sleep that night, she saw the dragon again.

She tried fighting it with her magic, but the fire burned her out before she could. 

 


	3. Queen of Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi might have been the Queen of this game, but somebody else is just joining, and they won't go easy on her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am literally writing all of these during sleepless nights and i-dont-know-what-time in the morning.   
> More stuff happening in this chapter. Nearing the main plot.   
> Also, I will try to post the new chapters within a week after the previous one. So basically check this out every week and you'll probably find a new chapter. 
> 
> unbeta'd*

Levi refused to admit she was anxious. 

When she woke up in the morning, she was covered in several layers of sweat and her breathing was ragged. She only remembered a few bits and pieces of her dream, but they were all unpleasant. Her skin was sticky and wet, and he hair clung to her forehead unattractively. Even with just 30 minutes left before she would have to leave the house to arrive to school on time, Levi opted to take an hour long shower. She needed to get this filthiness off her body.

While she waited for the water to warm up, she sat on the bathroom floor and tried to understand what the Crystal Ball's vision meant. _Dragons represent...evil? Danger?_ She remembered how the dragon had golden eyes that seemed too bright to be anything normal. _Golden...Gold? Treasure?_   Levi groaned in frustration. All this worry and these thoughts were making her head hurt.

When she was sure the water was warm enough, Levi stepped in the shower and instantly began scrubbing the filth off of her. The dragon never left her mind, and she continued to wonder what it could possibly mean. Everything she thought of seemed too ridiculous and just didn't feel _right._

Or maybe she was over thinking things. Maybe it was something less significant and more shallow than what she tried to come up with. She pulled her dangerous thoughts to a halt though, when she felt a headache coming up. She didn't need a migraine this early in the morning. After scrubbing her pale skin until it was red with irritation, she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. She started the process of drying up by blow drying her short black hair. It was long from the front, then grew shorter in the rear, and she had a neat, well-kept undercut that put at certain edge to her appearance. Add that to her permanent scowl and it's the greatest mix of unattractiveness.  

Her hair was shiny and smooth when it was dry, and the longer strands fell over her face sometimes. She unwrapped her body from the towel to use it to rub her skin dry. She then put on some black skinny jeans and a gray tank top. On top of it was a gray hoodie to keep her warm in the cold weather. She also wore sneakers that looked like they would fall apart at any given moment. 

On her way out, Levi grabbed her phone and apartment keys before heading out in a hurry. She was already late and would surely receive a well-deserved scolding, but she couldn't help it. She  _needed_ to be clean. She arrived at Trost High just after the bell signalling the start of first period. She jogged the rest of the way, but was stopped by Mr. Smith.

"Miss Ackerman," The principle started, a somehow soothing smile on his face, "I believe you have an understandable reason for being late." 

"It wouldn't be understandable for you, sir." Levi said truthfully. Mr. Smith's eyes widened slightly, so Levi continued to explain. "Not many people would understand, Mister Smith." Mr. Smith held her gaze for a few fleeting seconds then nodded, gesturing for her to continue to her class. 

"Don't let it happen again, Levi!" He called after her and she raised a thumb in affirmation. 

Levi received some curious glances as she walked into History class, but Mr. Arlert didn't question her. He simply pointed to her usual seat and she followed. She sat behind the empty seat that was occupied by Mr. Jaeger the last time she was here. She felt somebody nudge her shoulder and turned to meet Hanji's glare.

"Where were you?" She whisper-shouted. Levi gestured to say she would explain later. She turned her attention to Mr. Arlert who explained the beginnings of the segregation between mortals and magical beings. He named many famous scientists who sought to understand the immortals who shared the land. And he also spoke of wizards who attempted to fight for their kind's rights to live among the humans. However, humans refused to side with reason, and refused to see witches and wizards as anything more than the dirt stuck to their shoes.

Perhaps the reason Levi admired Armin was because of the way he spoke of both kinds, not preferring either one. Or, if he did, he never let it show. He was fair.

The period ended shortly after. Levi walked to her locker alongside Hanji, who threw questions at her, not waiting for an answer before shooting another one.

"...I was worried sick! Levi, I was about to skip class to come looking for you. I thought something happened to you!" She rambled on. Levi waited for her to try to catch a breath.

"Relax, Hanji. I was just sweaty and needed a good shower." Hanji narrowed her eyes at her incredulously. She stepped in front of Levi, making her stop in the middle of the school hallway.

"You just called me by my name." She stated, dumbfounded, "There must be something bothering you." She seemed worried now. Levi almost laughed at how many times Hanji would give her that look nowadays. There wasn't that much to worry about...was there? Levi knew there was no arguing with Hanji. Whether she liked it or now, Hanji could squeeze any answer out of her, and she'd very much rather tell her willingly than be pressured into it. 

"I'll tell you during lunch." She stated as she skirted around her friend and arrived at her locker. Hanji followed and stood aside as she waited for Levi to put and remove books from her backpack. As Levi did so, she noticed the love potion in a small pocket in the inside of her bag. Suddenly, she knew how to entertain herself and hopefully cheer herself up. The witch stuffed a few books in her backpack then slung it over her back.

The next few classes went by regularly. That day, Levi had English the last period again. The entire day she had been thinking of ways to get Mr. Jaeger to drink the potion. She thought of several ways to do it, but they all seemed far-fetched. She needed a plan that would not seem like too much for a student-teacher relationship. And she also needed to find someone who she would make Mr. Jaeger fall in love with. It would be funny to watch his love-struck blushes and moments of love-induced stupor. She had only ever used the love potion on one person before in the ninth grade. The boy she used it on acted like a complete sap to her for an entire month before it wore off. 

Levi was glad when the boy fought off the charm's iron grip. She was simply curious when she first used it, but she regretted it immediately. The boy would not leave her alone for a minute, and it was embarrassing and annoying at once.

This time though, she knew the symptoms and knew better than to make her teacher fall in love with her. Or any other student, for that matter. She was sure she would not be able to handle the random kisses they would give each other in the middle of lessons. Besides, she wanted to have some fun, not get the poor guy fired. 

During lunch, Levi explained everything that happened last night to Hanji. Hanji seemed to ponder fora while before her eyes lit up.

"Maybe it's not about an object," she said brightly, "perhaps it's the signs of a behavior. A behavior that will put you in danger. You did say the dragon burned you in the dream, right?" Levi nodded. "I believe this could be a warning from your own behaviors. You will put yourself in danger." 

Levi did not let Hanji's words bother her for too long. 

She made her way to English right after the bell rang. Outside the classroom, she saw Mr. Jaeger bickering with Mr. Smith, who seemed to be scolding him. The young witch's curiosity and got the best of her. She hid behind a corner where she was close enough to hear them, but they wouldn't be able to see her.

"..risk for many of us. We cannot do that." She heard Mr. Smith say. Mr. Jaeger sighed in frustration.

"Sir, I am willing to risk myself for this. You need to understand how important this is." His tone was pleading. Levi's curiosity only became thirstier as she listened to the hushed conversation. "The students don't have to know about this. Nobody does--"

"Eren. We're not even sure if you're right." 

"I am sure!" Mr. Jaeger replied desperately. Levi was only becoming more confused. A small part of her regretted listening in on this conversation, since it didn't seem like she would get any information, and she curiosity would definitely gnaw at her throughout the day. She heard Mr. Smith click his tongue, but he didn't say anything else for a while. For a moment, she thought they left, and made to move from her hiding spot, but the principle finally spoke when the bell rang.

"You have a class,  _Mr. Jaeger_." He spat the name not poisonously, but Levi could not understand why he would stress on the name like that. Perhaps to remind him of his duties. "I'll talk to you after class."

With that, Levi heard Mr. Smith's fancy shoes clicking on the ground, and her breath hitched when he walked right past the place she was hiding. He did not acknowledge her, though, and she couldn't remember a time when she had been more thankful. When she heard the classroom door shut, she finally came out of her spot and opened the door, not bothering to knock.

Mr. Jaeger didn't seem surprised by this and gestured to her seat. She did as she was silently told and sat down as the period began. She found it difficult to focus on what her teacher said throughout the session, though. Her mind was occupied by the conversation she was just eavesdropping on. There were multiple theories to explain the words she heard...

"Miss Ackerman." She was broken out of her thoughts (again?) by her English teacher's irritated tone.

"My name is Levi." She repeated for the umpteenth time. 

"You weren't paying attention." He stated. Levi stared at him blankly, showing that she didn't really care. She noticed how red the teacher's face had become. He was exceptionally angry that day. "I will see you after class." He said before returning to whatever subject he was discussing with the class.

' _Don't you have a meeting with Mr. Smith after class?'_ She wanted to ask so badly. Instead, she lay her head in her hands to take a nap. She was already getting detention, might as well take this opportunity.

She was awoken by Hanji's rough shoving about an hour later. She noticed the class was empty, even Mr. Jaeger was not there. 

"Mr. Jaeger told me to wake you while he talked to Mr. Smith." She offered helpfully. "How did you get in trouble?" She asked curiously. Levi sighed.

"I wasn't paying attention. The dragon stuff was really bothering me." The teen lied. Hanji sat on Levi's desk and gazed at her for a few moments.

"You shouldn't let it bother you so much. It's gonna happen anyway, so just go with the flow until it does." There was no way Levi was telling Hanji what she heard. Something told her she shouldn't talk about this to anyone. Besides, she didn't know enough information to offer Hanji, anyway. Before Hanji could continue to bother her, Mr. Jaeger walked into class. His hair was messy, obviously from running his hand in it too many times and he still looked pissed off.

"Thank you, Hanji." He told her as a polite dismissive gesture. Hanji patted her best friend's back, then nodded politely at Mr. Jaeger before leaving the two of them alone in the classroom. "Levi, what's up with you?" He asked tiredly.

"What do you mean?" Said teen feigned innocence. She could tell Mr. Jaeger saw right through her act, but he still went along with it.

"You've been getting far too distracted. Not only in this class, but in others too." He shut the classroom door and moved to sit on the desk beside hers. "It's already impacting your grades in other subjects. I just don't want your grades to drop." 

"Okay. Is that all?" She asked curtly. Mr. Jaeger clenched his jaw and shut his eyes to compose himself. Levi found herself wanting to piss him off more, so she went on. "Or, if you want you could talk to me about your overdose. This could be our little therapy session." Before Levi could even fully finish her sentence, she was forced to back against the wall beside her when Mr. Jaeger suddenly caged her between both his arms. His face was merely inches from her face, and she could feel his hot breath on the top of her nose.

"I am so fucking sick of your little games," he spat. Levi recoiled as far as she could in her awkward position but Mr. Jaeger remained within her personal space, "you think we didn't see you eavesdropping on us earlier?" A sick smirk spread on his face and he leaned back. "Levi, you're a troublemaker. In more ways than others can know. My advice is to keep your cards in your pockets, before anyone sees them." Mr. Jaeger headed back to his desk and packed his remaining papers and such into his messenger bag. 

Levi stared in well-hidden shock and humiliation as the man coolly packed his stuff and slung the bag over his shoulder. He opened the door and looked like he was about to leave when he turned back to his student, holding the door open.

"Are you gonna leave or are you planning to stay overnight?" He asked sarcastically and Levi fought the urge to turn him into a lizard right then and there. She picked up her own stuff and stormed past Mr. Jaeger, not looking back.

* * *

As soon as she arrived at her apartment, she hurried into the witchcraft room and picked up the Crystal Ball. She took it to her bedroom and put it on her bedside table. She quickly changed into sweatpants and an over-sized shirt then sat on her bed, bringing the Ball to her lap. She colors swirled again to form the same image she had seen before. She waited to see if anything else would appear afterwards, but the image simply faded back into the purple and blue colors that danced in the magical object. 

She put the Crystal Ball back on the bedside table and lay down on her bed, her eyes locked on the Ball, hoping anything different would show up. Instead, the colors continued to twirl in their confines, showing nothing different. Levi expected it to change after Mr. Jaeger's small 'advice'. She assumed it meant he knew about her being a witch. Wasn't that what he meant when he said 'keep your cards in your pockets, before anyone sees them'? That she should keep her tricks hidden, otherwise others will find out about her too. But it was odd. 

A different part of her destiny was supposed to be revealed after what her English teacher had said. but it seemed as though the only thing she needed to know for now was the dragon, still. She hoped it meant Mr. Jaeger would not reveal anything of her secret. Or maybe she simply misunderstood what he said.

Her eyes were locked on the never-changing Crystal Ball until she drifted to sleep.

That night, she dreamed of Mr. Jaeger. Their close proximity. Lips touching and hands roaming. Breathing was quick and ragged and voices far too lewd for her own good. She would have liked to say it was horrible... but perhaps she somewhat enjoyed the dream.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhh. I am not really happy with this one. The plot wasn't really settled until I started writing this chap so I've written it so many times in the past few hours. I'll edit it soon, probably and hopefully by then I'll be more proud of it.  
> Please tell me what you think! Your comments and kudos keep me going.  
> Oh and Levi will stop being a bitch around the next chapter or so. (Next chapter sometime between today and the coming Wednesday)  
> Was this chapter short? idk it was 6 pages on Word.


	4. Hidden Flames

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi confronts Mr. Jaeger to clear out her confusion, but now she's dug a deeper grave for both of them. But I mean, a secret for a secret, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I smell plot.

The following school day, Friday, flew by as any other would. Except, maybe Levi didn't use any magic.

When Hanji pointed out how odd that was, Levi simply shook it of, telling her she was just not in the mood. That was a lie and Hanji saw right through it, but she didn't question it any further. Last time she made Levi angry, unpleasant things happened.

Unpleasant meaning Levi cast a spell on her so that every time she found somebody attractive, her clothes would disappear, and only reappear when they were out of sight. 

Levi found it hilarious, but Hanji was so embarrassed she skipped an entire week of school and swore to never get on Levi's nerves again.

Hanji was truly concerned for her best friend, though. She had been acting odd for the past week, and she highly doubted it was because of the dragon in her future. Levi could very simply just be sick; she always hated being sick. Hanji knew it was because of the frustration of never being or feeling clean, and feeling the urge to clean up after everything you touch but you cannot because to clean it, you would have to touch it again.

But this was definitely something different. Hanji's best friend instincts told her so, and she trusted them. Levi was more upset than angry or frustrated. She nibbled at her lunch and couldn't even finish half her sandwich before the bell rang. Her sketches were more complicated, too complex for Hanji to understand them. They looked like a bunch of random objects in one big lump on the page, but it didn't make any sense. Levi also barely spoke. 

To be fair, she rarely speaks when she's in a well state, but it was even worse. She wouldn't utter more than a couple of words, or she would be discussing something with her best friend and then trail off and pretend she hadn't been saying anything, as if she got tired of speaking halfway through a word. 

By the end of the day, Hanji was about ready to pin her best friend to the ground and not let her go until she was done interrogating her. She held back, though. She was going to find out what it was without the help of Levi, or just wait until Levi decided she would tell her. 

Levi, on the other hand, did not notice her own odd behavior. She hadn't even thought of using her magic throughout the day until Hanji mentioned it, and she hadn't noticed the other teen staring questioningly at her every minute they were within seeing distance. It was however bothersome whenever Hanji asked her what was going on with her. It reminded her of Mr. Jaeger.

" _What's up with you?"_

She honestly did not know. Her own mind was in riddles, one after the other. She felt disturbed the entire day. Why?

1\. From Mr. Jaeger's behavior yesterday.

2\. From the half-conversation she heard between Mr. Smith and Mr. Jaeger. 

3\. From the dream she had overnight. 

The dream was bad, terrible, horrible. Or at least that's what she wished she genuinely thought. She liked it, and that was what disturbed her the most because,

1\. Mr. Jaeger is her teacher.

2\. He is dangerous, according to Mikasa. (And maybe Levi was close to agreeing with her cousin. The guy didn't seem friendly at all yesterday)

And 3. It just felt wrong.

So what if she had a crush on her teacher, a man who is probably quite a few years older than her? She didn't know, but it just felt so horribly wrong to experience something like that, with someone like him. (What is ' _like him'_ supposed to mean? She doesn't know that either.)

But more pressing questions occupied her mind because suddenly, she had too little information about too many things. Like the dragon, and the lack of information Mikasa offered about Mr. Jaeger, and the lack of enlightenment from the conversation she had eavesdropped on. 

What pressed against her skull the most though was Mr. Jaeger's words to her yesterday. He still wondered what he meant by the cards reference. At first, she was sure it meant he knew about her magic tricks, but then when the Crystal Ball showed nothing new regarding her English teacher, Levi began to wonder even more so what he meant.

She planned to talk to talk to Mikasa about Mr. Jaeger later on, but first thing after the final bell, she would confront the man.

And she did. 

With assertive strides, she walked into Mr. Eren Jaeger's classroom right after the last bell for the day. He was still fitting folders into his bag when Levi strode into the room. He looked up at when he noticed another presence in the room and smiled.

"Ah, Levi. How can I help you? Do you need notes from today's lesson?" He asked gleefully. 

"No." Levi deadpanned. "I want to know what you meant yesterday.  About the card thing." Her arms were crossed over her chest as she eyed the teacher dangerously from a safe distance.

"Of course." He said. He then started heading towards his student, the still on his face. Levi stiffened when he was close enough to touch her, but nearly sighed in relief (and perhaps a little bit of disappointment) when he reached behind her and shut the door. "I thought it was pretty obvious, but I'll comply anyway." The smile slowly faded as he returned to his desk. His previous task of packing was forgotten as he sat down and crossed his arms. 

Levi's eyes flickered briefly to the outline of his biceps which showed exceptionally well through the light blue button-down shirt. When her eyes were on his face once more, he didn't seem to have noticed her sight move elsewhere. 

"Please do." She pushed when he remained silent for a few moments. He stared at her with the same look he gave her that day she had a migraine. He looked almost..interested.

"I think that ruined the suspense," He stated teasingly. "I think I'll have to start the silence again." He raised his wrist to look at his watch. "And....go." 

"Mr. Jaeger!" Levi yelled, fed up with this ridiculous act. He smirked, and there was an unfamiliar glint in his eyes.

"There it is. You're angry?" 

"Mr. Jaeger--"

"Drop the formalities when we're alone. If I have to call you by your first name, you should do the same for me." He was being to nonchalant, but Levi would never let him see how much he pissed her off.

" _Eren,_ " She spat, the name like venom on her tongue, yet it was some when sweet as it rolled in her mouth, "I came here to get one answer, not play games."

"Really?" The smirk was gone from his face, and he looked almost disgusted, but his vehemence was clear. "Because as I recall, you happen to be very fond of games." Levi was drawn into his eyes when she saw the swirl of blue and green shift, and the golden that decorated the pupils' perimeter grew to occupy his orbs. 

_Golden eyes..._

_The dragon._

Mr. Jaeger--or rather Eren--stood up and approached the teen, his pace not until a predator hunting it's prey, but more so like a tiger prancing in his cage. His steps seemed calculated and precise. 

He was radiating heat, Levi noticed. The closer he got, the closer Levi felt to a furnace. 

_Dragon._

Levi would have held her ground if it wasn't for the incredible heat scorching her skin, and she took a few steps back, trying to maintain a safe distance between them.

"What are you doing, playing games where you don't belong?" Levi feigned confusion. 

"What?" She asked innocently. Eren stopped moving a fair distance away from his student, and she was relieved. 

"Witches don't belong among humans. You put all of them in danger with your presence." He said. 

"What about you? I highly doubt you're human." Levi challenged. 

"I am different." He replied not missing a beat.

"How so?"

"I just am!" He yelled. Apparently, his anger fueled his heat, because suddenly Levi's skin burned like it was being cooked over a fire. "You should go back to your family. Or I will force you back." He took a quick step forward and her instincts kicked in. 

She didn't realize what she had done until after it was done. There was a flash and suddenly Eren was on the other side of the room, his expression shocked. He quickly recovered and growled at her.

"You cannot put these people in danger. I won't let you." He said through clenched teeth. He stood up and Levi expected him to attack her back.  

He didn't.

He faced the ground and stood still for a while. If the witch didn't know any better, she would've thought he was sleeping standing up. He did move eventually though. 

He lifted his head and Levi noticed his eyes were back to their Caribbean color. He looked around the room, his brows furrowed, before turning back to face Levi.  

"What the hell happened?" He asked finally. Levi's eyes widened.

"You don't know what happened?" She asked incredulously. Eren eyed her up and down, noticing how her skin was red as if she had just taken a hot shower and her breathing was heavy. She looked like she was about ready to run at any moment. Upon the realisation of what happened, he dug the heel of his hands into his eyes and groaned.

"Shit. Fuck." He kneeled down so he was sitting on his haunches, his back against the wall. "Fuck." He added as an afterthought. Levi was genuinely confused. She watched her teacher cautiously, almost expecting him to attack her any time now. 

"Are you okay?" He asked suddenly, never removing his hands to reveal his face.

"Uh...yeah, I guess." He nodded and the room became silent. Levi was confused and angry, but definitely more confused. "Eren, what just happened?" 

"Get out." 

"I need to kno--"

"Please, Levi." He looked up at her with red, pleading eyes. He also looked sorry, and Levi could only oblige.

"Okay. I'll talk to you Monday." She replied. As she turned around, Eren sighed defeated, knowing that if she wanted answers, she would probably get them either way.

Levi didn't bother passing by Mikasa's class. She was too tired of everything. Whatever she had done to throw Eren across the room had taken a lot of her energy. Besides, her brain was now tied in knots, and she didn't think she could handle anymore drama. She would call her tomorrow, when she had a bit more energy. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this one was alright! I've got a clear idea of the plot and where I want this story to go now, so I might even post every day if I have time.  
> (Also, it's 3:50 AM here. But I think this is the earliest I've posted since I started this.)


	5. My Apologies, Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi believes that learning dark spells will protect her from any danger Eren may pose to her, but she doesn't wanna be naive. She comes up with something else that is sure to keep him from hating her altogether, but that plan is nothing new.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is relatively late compared to other chapters but I've had a shitty couple of days. Anyway, hers chapter 5, and it's significantly longer than the others so I hope that makes up for the tardiness.   
> I think the rest of the chapters should be this long, but it would probably take longer to write so you guys decide. Longer chapters with an extra wait (still a new chapter every week) or shorter chapters every day?

The Crystal Ball didn't show anything new that day. Nor the day after that and definitely not the day after that.

Levi stopped expecting to see anything new every time she looked at it, but still she hoped she was wrong. She hoped with every shred of her being that Eren was not what she thought he was. Truthfully, she had several facts that could eliminate the theory of the teacher being a dragon entirely, but unless the Crystal Ball showed something different, it was pretty obvious that Eren was indeed the dragon. 

Yet, she still didn't know how to feel about it. She felt pathetic at the thought of how many things her feelings were indecisive about.

Perhaps now, knowing what--or rather who--the dragon was, Levi would be able to protect herself from him in the future. She didn't know how she would do that, though. She definitely would not be able to fight off a dragon, and that settled a weight in her chest that seemed to drop down to her stomach the further her thoughts travelled.

The spell she had cast that sent Eren flying across the room was completely unintentional, but it had done a fair amount of damage. It was clearly an instinctual spell. But instincts could only protect the witch for so long. She needed dark spells if she was to engage in real combat, and she knew exactly what to do.

Sunday afternoon, she arrived at Hanji's apartment and did not bother to knock. It was always open because Hanji wanted Levi to feel like this was her home too, and her uncle, who she lived with, was too careless to bother locking the door.

So Levi stepped into the house as if it was her own and headed straight to Hanji's bedroom. Thankfully, she didn't run into her uncle on the way, otherwise that would have led to a very awkward conversation. 

Hanji's family were never really fond of wizards. They saw them more as test subjects than human beings themselves. And when the war between both kinds commenced, both Hanji's parents were killed by wizards and so the rest of the family swore to brutally murder every magical being they came across to avenge them. 

Except for Hanji.

Hanji was odd, and Levi never really bothered to ask why she wasn't trying to scoop her intestines out for obvious reasons.

Hanji was also loud, and Levi was more than prepared for the screech that met her as she opened the bedroom door. 

"LEVI! YOU HAVEN'T VISITED ME IN SO LONG!" Levi only rolled her eyes as she shut the door behind her.

"I was here last week, four-eyes." 

"Really?" Hanji asked seriously. Levi sat on the bed beside her and flicked her forehead.

"Were your rats not keeping you company?" The sarcasm was pretty obvious, or at least that's what Levi thought. Hanji, apparently, thought it was a genuine question. 

"Oh, no! Of course they were! They just don't talk back so it's different than talking to people." Suddenly, the girl's eyes widened and she leaned towards Levi with a wide smile on her face. "Could you make them talk for me?!" She asked excitedly. Levi scoffed and pushed her back. 

"Why the hell would you think I know a spell to make animals talk?" Hanji shrugged sullenly and Levi sighed, exasperated. "Anyway, I need your help." The other's eyes lit up again and she straightened up.

"I'm all ears!" She chirped. 

"Do you still have that book of dark spells?" 

"Dark spells!? Levi, are you turning evil?! Oh, poor baby! I need to call Mikasa!" 

"Hanji, no! I need it for other reasons." Levi pinned her down to the bed with her hands on her shoulders to prevent her from reaching any social device. Hanji only blinked at her, hints of hysteria disappearing from her features.

That's when Levi recounted all that had happened throughout the past week. Excluding the weird dream and her slight attraction towards Eren. When she was finished, Hanji was lying sprawled on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. 

"Wow...that is a lot to happen in one week." Levi nodded in agreement. "All right. I trust you, so I am going to trust you not to use it to rule the world or wipe the human race or something."

Hanji led the witch to the small closet, where she pulled 7 floorboards apart from the rest to reveal a narrow staircase that led to a huge lab. It was bigger than Levi's witchcraft stuff room, and nearly as big as the entire floor of the house.

It had ingredients for potions onto one side, with several tables with several brewed charms in containers on them, and then to the far left corner were two rats who didn't seem to be doing anything out of the ordinary. Well, at least not to Levi.

On the opposite side, there were books of wizardry, the history of wizards, the studies of wizards and much more, including dark spells. 

Levi never asked Hanji why she had that book, she just assumed it was for studies.

In the centre of the room was a rug that ran down the distance of it until it reached the wall, where a tall mirror stood. Levi had come down there several times, and she still didn't know what the mirror and rug were for. Until now. 

"Oh, and you'll need to use this mirror," Hanji pointed at the reflective glass. "It's the best way to perfect your spells." Levi raised her eyebrow at her best friend.

"Why do you have that?" She asked suspiciously. Hanji smiled, oblivious.

"I don't know. I'm guessing it was my parents'. The instructions for it are in the spell book." She explained handing Levi the small book. It wasn't too thick, but for a book its size, it was thick enough to hold thousands of dark spells. The cover was made of brown leather, the words 'DARK MAGIC' were carved into it in small letters and it's pages looked too clean for a book that was meant to be decades old. 

The witch opened the book with dainty hands, and flipped through the first couple of pages, not bothering to read then until she saw the title "Training Mirror". Everything was written in ink, the handwriting crooked and rushed against the white page.

"Could you--uh... could you please read it out loud?" Hanji hesitated. Levi nodded, and began reading every word out to Hanji.

" _The training mirror is like any other mirror and shows your reflection. However, if you should cast a spell on it, it will not be reflected onto you and only cast a spell on your reflection, which makes it the perfect opponent for wizards in training."_

"Whoa...awesome!" 

"Yeah, it's fucking magnificent but how am I supposed to take it home with me?" Levi deadpanned. Hanji didn't even miss a beat.

"Stay here!" Levi sighed. "I'm serious! Stay over for a while until you get the hang of it, I can even help you with some stuff." After a moment of contemplation, Levi agreed. 

The witch walked back home to get some necessities for her stay, but it was raining and she was soaked by the time she arrived at her apartment. She unlocked the door and pushed it open. Leaving her shoes at the door, she hurried to the bathroom and took a quick shower to get the nasty smell of city rain off of her body. Then, Levi stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her torso.

She blow dried her hair to make it just a little less wet and then she went back into her bedroom, still with just a towel around her, to pack a bag for her stay at Hanji's. As she was folding a shirt to put it in her bag, a knock sounded at her door. 

Levi pulled the towel tighter around her chest and opened the apartment door to reveal non other than Eren Jaeger. His eyes widened as he eyed her body and the only thing that kept her skin covered, before turning away. 

"Uh...hi," he said awkwardly. Levi definitely did not expect him to show up. Actually, nobody ever shows up at her other than Hanji, so she didn't know exactly what she was expecting. 

"What are you doing here?" Levi asked curtly. Eren didn't seem phased by that. In fact, he even turned back to look at her in the eyes, and with certainty in his voice, he said, "I came to apologize." 

"You came all the way here for that?" She sounded incredulous.

"Actually, I believe I have some explaining to do." He offered, looking down at the ground beneath him. Levi blinked at him. "Can I come in?" He asked timidly. The teen sighed, exasperated, and opened the door wider for him. She walked to the living room with him trailing behind. 

She sat down on the couch, and he sat on the opposite end of it and his eyes kept flickering towards her, then away. This went on for a while until Levi got sick of it.

"Are you gonna speak today or am I gonna have to force it out of you?" Levi asked, the vexation apparent in her voice.  

"A-aren't you gonna get dressed?" Ah, so that's what it was about. Levi smirked. "I mean, you might catch a cold." He added stupidly. Still, it inflated Levi's already swollen ego, and she was flattered. So the answer was no, she will not be getting dressed.

"Nope." Eren noticed the smirk on her face but disregarded it. The sight of her with just an towel around her body, and her collarbone and thin neck was such a turn on. But he had to begin to explain otherwise he wouldn't be able to control himself.

"What happened on Friday was....I didn't mean to do it," Eren began. Levi's expression changed into one of intrigue. "I can't control whatever it is you wanna call it. I become this other _thing_ and I wasn't even aware of what I was doing.

"I don't wanna hurt you, and I promise I didn't mean to. Whatever I said when I was in that state, I didn't mean that either. But you being... _you,_ I don't think I can promise that I  _won't_ hurt you." 

 "I could kill you." Levi said. Eren's eyes widened in surprise. "If I kill you, you can't hurt me." Eren looked petrified, and Levi couldn't help the smile that threatened her lips. "Don't worry, I won't." The man looked relieved. She couldn't deny that it was nearly impossible not to believe him. He had no reason to lie. He warned her that he cannot control and could possibly hurt her in the future for being a witch. She would still be cautious around him, he still posed a threat, the only difference was that she knew the truth about him.

She just needed to be sure of one thing.

"So, you're the dragon?" Eren cocked his head.

" _The_ dragon?" He questioned. Levi really did not feel like explaining everything, and she did not want to reveal what the Crystal Ball showed, in case he was really the dragon. So she simply waved it off. "Well, uh...yeah. It's something like that." That was good enough for her. She didn't want Eren to leave, though. 

"Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure. Anything you have to offer." He smiled kindly.

Levi stood up and walked past Eren, feeling his eyes on her legs. She could have added an intriguing sway to her hips, or unnecessarily bent down to pick up a invisible object. But she didn't. She wanted to give the guy a break.

She went into the kitchen and opened the fridge to find several cans of beer. She grabbed two, one for him and the other for her and brought them back to him. She put hers on the coffee table and handed him his. 

"Thanks." 

"I'll be right back." Eren nodded and she headed to her bedroom. Locking the door, she quickly changed into a pair of shorts and a oversized Tee that was long enough to make it seem like she wasn't wearing anything underneath. There was no reason to wear anything warm for the weather outside, since she wouldn't be heading to Hanji's for a while. The sun was still a few hours away from setting, she would head out later. 

She decided to do some quick packing while she was there. She quickly picked up the books that were neatly stacked on the desk and pushed them into her school bag. While she did so, she got a glimpse of the wine-colored container and took it out. 

She didn't feel like messing with Eren anymore, other things were happening now, and the potion was useless once more. Unless....

It would be for her own safety. It would keep her safe around Eren. A little voice in the back of her head told her that wasn't the reason. That she was taking this little crush too far. 

She would still get something out of it, but she wasn't doing it entirely for the sake of this little liking. 

Levi tucked it into the waistband of her shorts and walked back out to Eren. He turned to look at her as soon as he heard her coming, and he looked almost disappointed when he first noticed she was dressed, but he recovered when he realized that she wasn't wearing much more than what she had on earlier. 

"Are you old enough to gave alcohol in your house?" Eren asked. Levi smirked and sat on the couch, closer to him than before. 

"Legally, I'm 17. Actually, I'm 22." She said.

"What?" Eren was confused.

"I lived underground my entire life, so I was never registered into the legal system. And when I did  _'register'_ ," She added quotation marks in the air to stress that perhaps she hadn't done it in the traditional way, "I thought it would be best to go to school first, so I started from the first grade and lived with Mikasa until 4 years ago." Eren blinked and Levi half expected him to say something about her using magic to legally exist. He didn't.

"How did nobody notice you were a 10 year old in the first grade?" He asked incredulously. 

"I was always pretty short." She laughed. Eren smiled with her, her laugh being too contagious. He didn't understand while she didn't smile and laugh make often. It was stunning. 

"Well that's a relief." He breathed. Levi smile was gone and she glared at him. 

"Me being short?" 

"No!" He said too quickly. "You being 22." He corrected. Levi didn't question why that was a relief for him. While she bent over to grab her can, she was suddenly reminded by a prodding at her waist that she needed to get him to drink the potion. For real this time. 

As she took a sip of beer, she 'accidentally' spilled some onto her bare lap. Truthfully, she hated how sticky it was and wanted to take a shower right away, but she had to keep up the act. 

"Shit." She cursed.

"Oh. Should I get you some tissue?" Eren was already standing up, placing his beer aside. 

"Yes, please. You'll find some in the kitchen." He nodded and headed to the kitchen. As soon as he was out of sight, Levi pulled the small bottle out of her waistband and shuffled closer to Eren's beer without letting the spilled beer slip onto the couch. She emptied half the small container into his drink, making sure none of it lingered at the mouth of the can, and quickly shuffled back into her spot on the couch before Eren came back with tissue in his hand.

"Here you go." He said as he leaned in front of her, and cleaned the spilled drink off of her. Levi noticed that the tissue was slightly damp, effectively removing the stickiness that would have been left behind. 

"You know, I could have done it myself." The student said. "But thanks." 

"No problem." The man said, throwing the dirty kleenex into a trash can. He sat at his previous spot and picked up his beer can, taking a large gulp. Last time she used a love potion, Levi had emptied the entire thing into the guy's drink. But she was sure only half of it would do the trick. Thankfully, it did not have a taste, so Eren did not react at all. 

They continued to talk until the sky turned a bright orange, and both their cans were empty. They both said their goodbyes, Eren saying sorry again, and as soon as he had left, Levi finished packing her bag and getting dressed, then headed over to Hanji's. Fortunately, the rain had stopped and the roads were semi-dry, so she made it there during half the time it took her on the way home.

* * *

**Eren's POV**

On my drive home from Levi's house, I began feeling sick. I barely kept the beer down until I arrived at my apartment, and hurled my guts into the toilet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked it. Again, tell me about any mistakes you spot. Leave kudos if you liked it.


	6. Missing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi worries about 2 people in one day. That's more than she had in a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay and I am so sorry if it isn't long enough. I didn't have Internet so I couldn't go anything about this.

** Levi's POV **

On Monday, I didn't see Eren at school. During English, another man replaced him. I couldn't remember his name, but he got annoyed much more easily than Eren did. And during History, the seat in front of me was empty again.

I started getting a bit worried. What if the potion had done something to him? Could people have allergic reactions to those things? Or maybe Hanji had done something wrong. Although Hanji had never messed any potions and whatnot up before, there is a first time for everything. 

When Eren was absent for two more days, I confronted Hanji about it.

"Hanji!" I called across the hall. She looked confused when she noticed me stomping towards her, and then scared when she saw the anger on my face. She stepped back as I approached her until her back hit the lockers.

"Yes?" She asked innocently. Cautious of the students roaming about around us, I moved closer to Hanji so she could hear me when I whispered to her.

"The love potion you gave me," I started lowly. "Are you a hundred percent sure it was perfect?" Hanji blinked down at me, then her eyes widened and she squealed.

"I knew it!" She screeched and I flinched. I hadn't told her that I used it on Eren as a precaution for my own safety because I knew how she would react. And I was never in the mood for one of Hanji's lectures. "You used it! Yes!" 

"Hanji, that's not the point--"

"Ah! I knew you weren't as cold hearted as you make yourself seem! Little Levi is just a little lonely." She said the last sentence whilst patting my head, and I smacked her hand away. 

"Shit-face, do you ever hear what I say?" I asked, frustrated. Hanji brought her finger to her chin, as if contemplating what I just said, then shrugged. "Idiot." I muttered.

"I was saying I think you got the potion wrong." I explained. 

"What? I was so sure it was perfect..." her face fell and the urge to smack her across the face faded only a little. 

"Well, it wasn't and I might have killed someone." I said bluntly. Her eyes shone with recognition and she smacked my shoulder. 

"You used it on Mr. Jaeger?!" She whisper-shouted. I didn't reply, but my silence was enough of an answer for her. "You idiot! Why would you do that?!" I couldn't be sure whether she was angry or worried.

"Can I explain later?" I said gesturing to the students within hearing range. She pursed her lips into a thin line and nodded.

"You're explaining everything to me once we get home. And if there's anything else you haven't told me, you might wanna tell me that, too." I sighed in defeat and nodded. We walked to our next class together wordlessly, but every time I met Hanji's gaze, she would shoot me a disapproving glare.

That day after school, I went over to Mikasa's classroom.

"I need to talk to you." I said. She blinked at me, studying the seriousness in my eyes before nodding. I sat down on one of the desks in front of her and we stared at each other for a while, our glares matching in intensity.

"What is Eren? Why is he dangerous?" I partly knew the answer, but I had to be cautious. Perhaps I was being overly paranoid, but maybe Eren was hiding information from me that Mikasa had. 

"Does it matter?" She asked suspiciously.

"Yes." She scanned my expression for a fee more seconds before putting the papers she was correcting aside and folding her arms over her chest.

"He's a hybrid. Half wizard, half dragon shifter." She began. I was glad she didn't dance around the subject or question me. "All the dragon blood did was create a different identity within him. He can't control it, and he hates wizards." 

"Why do he hate wizards?"

"His dad was one. He was a master of dark magic and often created new, more powerful spells. He experimented on his wife, and at some point turned her and the baby to dragons. The man tried to turn them back, and he did, but now the powers lies within Eren as a different person entirely. He's hated the guy since." Mikasa finished with a sigh. She stood up and packed her stuff into her leather bag. 

"That's it?" I asked and stood up, too, to stand beside Mikasa.

"Yes, Levi. That's all I know. Or at least that's what he told me." She shrugged. She Slung the bag on her shoulder but didn't move. I saw the question behind her eyes, and I knew she was struggling trying to decide whether or not it would be safe to ask. Apparently, she decided it wasn't.

"Do you need a ride home?"

"No. I still have some shit to do." I replied. She nodded and headed to the door. With her hand on the handle, she turned to me.

"Call me if you need anything. But don't hurt Eren." Her eyes flashed dangerously at the last sentence, and I nodded obediently. I wasn't planning on hurting anybody until they posed a serious threat to me. Eren was currently sick or under the charm of a love potion. He wouldn't be able to lay a hand on me. 

Mikasa left me standing in the classroom alone, eyes locked on the spot where she just stood. I took my time beginning to walk out. I dreaded the serious talk I would later have with Hanji, and I was planning to procrastinate until I no longer could.

I knocked meekly on Mr. Smith's door, hoping he was still in there. It had been only 30 minutes since the final bell rang. 

Fortunately, the door opened to reveal Mr. Smith looking as tidy as ever. 

"Ah, Levi," he smiled kindly at me, while my expression remained the same.

"Mr. Smith, can I come in?" I asked softly. He nodded and stepped aside. I walked past him and sat in one of the seat in front of his desk as he shut the door and sat behind the large oak desk. 

"Is there something wrong, Levi?" The principal asked. I didn't answer that, and dived straight to the point.

"Why has Mr. Jaeger been absent this week?" Mr. Smith seemed slightly taken aback by that, and his lips parted slightly.

"He called in sick." He explained. The man wore a frown on his face as he said that, and I could see the confusion in his furrowed eyebrows. 

_okay, so he called in sick, meaning he's not dead. That's a relief._

"All right. Thank you, sir." I was up and out before he could have said anything and with nothing left to do here, I began the walk to Hanji's house. I was supposed to catch a ride with her after school, but I told her I needed to talk to Mikasa and so she left on her own. 

The sky was clear that afternoon, and it was slightly warm, save for the occasional chilly breeze. It was the perfect weather for a wonderful day  outside, and yet I was going to spend it listening to a speech from Hanji. 

_Who am I kidding? I never even go outside._

Still, I would much rather spend the day outside and burn my pale skin than get scolded by Hanji. I don't know where she gets it from, seeing as she had never seen her parents and her uncle doesn't give a single fuck, but I always guessed it was a natural thing. She would be a good mother if she ever had kids. They'd probably love her.

As I entered the house, I noticed the house was awfully quiet. Usually, I would hear Hanji's uncle moving around or cooking in the kitchen. And most of the time, I would be able to hear Hanji playing music or just making any kind of noise in her bedroom. Instead, I was greeted by silence, and it was a bit worrying if not menacing. I felt like I'd get shot at any moment or possibly find two dead bodies hanging from the ceiling.

I smiled slightly at my thoughts, praising my own morbid sense of humor.

I zeroed in on Hanji's bedroom and the door was closed. That was nothing new, but as I opened it I realized the room was completely empty, and it didn't seem like Hanji had been here for a while. The bed was still unmade--she usually made it when she came back--and the closet door was still closed--she leaves it open when she goes down to the lab to avoid having her uncle bother her to see where she is. 

It was rather odd. She had told me she would come home after school, and her car had been parked in front of the house. 

I made her bed then headed down to the lab just to be sure. The lab was unsurprisingly--but disappointingly--empty of any four-eyed freaks. I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. The mirror in front of me reflected the movement and I scowled at it. I keep forgetting it is just a regular mirror when I am not using it to train.

Back in Hanji's room, where I had better service, I dialed Hanji's number and waited for her to pick up. A few long rings later, she did. 

"Hello?" She sounded out of breath, and I could hear the wind blowing around her.

"Hanji, where the hell are you?" I let my annoyance seep into my words, hoping it would mask the worry I truly felt. (I was still also annoyed, though.) I couldn't tell whether or not she had noticed my concern, but if she had she didn't let it show.

"I'm uh... I went for a walk, and called uncle to get me 'cause I wasn't feeling well enough to walk back." I hadn't asked about her uncle, and if her intentions were not to be suspicious, she was doing a shitty job.

"Whatever it is you're doing, shitty glasses, you're gonna have to tell me about it sooner or later." 

"I'd rather do it later." She said then hung up. With a huff, I locked my phone and placed it on her desk, then took the spell book out of my backpack and went back down to the lab. 

The rats were squeaking at each other when I was back down, but other than that everything seemed normal.

I sat on the ground in front of the mirror and began studying where I left off.

Honestly, I was not doing it to protect myself against Eren anymore. I knew he would hardly be any trouble when he was head over heels for me because of that potion, but I studied dark spells anyway for the joy and sense of protection that came with knowing you can decapitate somebody from 50 feet away.

After I had memorised the spell and understood what it was supposed to do, I stood up a couple of feet away from the mirror and cast the spell. My reflection was suddenly headless and I smirked in triumph. This was easy, maybe I still was a prodigy.


	7. Hanji

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren isn't as sick as he thinks he is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am shit, I'm so sorry. I'm trying.

Levi was a dumb prodigy, she concluded. 

With Hanji missing after she had told her that she put Eren under the effect of a love potion, she really should have been less oblivious. It wasn't until two hours after she hung up with Hanji that her uncle appeared. When Levi asked him where Hanji was, he said she had gone to see a friend, and she asked him to drive her there for some reason or the other.

Levi cursed under her breath as she dialled Hanji's number. Someone answered after several rings.

"Uh...hello?" Levi's blood froze when she recognized the voice.

* * *

**Eren's POV**

I was lying in my bed, still feeling very sick, when the doorbell rang. I was planning on leaving it, my body felt far too heavy at the moment, but then I hear the familiar click of the door opening and loud footsteps. I probably should have panicked, since somebody just walked into my house without consent, but everything was too fuzzy and unclear to me. 

A figure appeared at my doorway, and it took me several seconds to recognize my student.

"Hanji?" I croaked. She looked worried for a moment before rushing to my side.

"Sir! How do you feel?" She asked impatiently. I chuckled drily.

"Like shit." I probably should not have used such language with my student, but in my hazy mind, it didn't really matter. "What the hell are you doing here, Hanji?" 

"I came to check on you, sir! Do you mind if I run a quick check up?" I furrowed my brows at her in confusion and sat up in my bed.

"What? A check up? Hanji wh--" 

"Please, sir. I wanna know what's wrong with you." Sure, she was only 17, but it was just a check up. I didn't see how it could go wrong. I nodded silently and she immediately went to work.

"Okay, so what are your symptoms?" She asked as she brought a notepad out of her pocket. She got a pen from my nightstand and stood with the ball of the pen against the blank page, waiting for my reply.

"I...uh...nausea, I guess?" I said. She wrote it down and turned back to me expectantly. "Also a lot of sweating," Hanji continued to write that down. "Honestly, Hanji, it's probably just fever. I can handle it. You need to go back home." 

"When did this start?" She asked quizzically, ignoring me.

"Hanji, go home--"

" _When did this start?"_ She pressed. Her lips were pursed and her eyes lost all excitement they once had. The serious expression that suddenly overtook her features was slightly frightening, and I found myself squirming under her intense glare.

"On my way back from...a student's house." I said hesitantly. Hanji hopped onto the edge of my bed and scribbled down what I had said.

"That student was Levi?" She asked, still writing something down. 

"Yeah, how--did she tell you?" 

"She told me a lot of things. One last thing," She held up a finger as she finished writing something then turned back to me. "What exactly did you do at her house?" She asked suspiciously. My face heated up at the masked implication.

"N-nothing!" She raised her eyebrow in disbelief. "I just needed to apologize for something!" Hanji let out a deep sigh, seeming a bit disappointed, then stood up. She put the pen back on my nightstand and pocketed the small notepad.

"Sir, this is not a fever." She straightened her posture, and inclined her head slightly. It resembled some kind of stance of victory. "You drank a love potion, and your body is trying to get rid of it." She stated.

I blinked at her, partly confused and partly annoyed. Hanji noticed my expression and began to explain,

"You're part dragon, dragons are wizards' number two enemy--right after humans--because of their immunity against their magic! Or did you not know that?" She leaned forward quizzically, hands on her hips. I opened my mouth to reply but she cut me off. 

"Of course, you didn't! You've lived your entire life with humans, haven't you?" She let out a terrifying cackle, and hopped back onto the bed, this time closer to me. "Basically, after you drank the potion, your body tried to get it out of your system. That's why you keep throwing up and sweating!" She clapped her hands loudly, as if she had just discovered something.

"Why would Levi even do that?" I asked incredulously. 

"Probably no reason. Levi's kind of childish sometimes, but she's childish in a not-so-childish way, you know?" I blinked at her, not truly processing her words. She seemed to notice this and laughed.

"Or, she's in love with you!" She clapped. My eyes widened at her and I pulled the covers off me, using what little strength I had left to push Hanji out of my house.

"All right, okay. Hanji, you need to get out and get some rest and I will do the same." I said as I dragged her out of my room. She resisted, whining a chorus of 'no's and 'I wanna staaaaaay!'.

When she was finally out of the front door, still begging me to let her stay, I said, "I'll see you at school, Hanji." And shut the door. 

I could still hear her voice whinning through the thick wood of the door, and I would surely be receiving complaints from the neighbours, but that didn't seem to put her off the littlest bit.

I headed into my kitchen, noticing the heaviness and raw feeling in my body now that the noise was gone. Hanji sure was a handful, and I wondered briefly how someone like Levi could be so close to her without committing murder. Opening one of the smaller cabinets where I kept all the medicines and such, I took out some pills for my headache, and swallowed them dry.

When I passed by the door on my way to the living room, I was forced to a stop by Hanji's voice. 

"Eren, Eren, Eren, Mr. Jaeger, Mr. Jaeger, Mr. Jaeger..." it went on and on and it didn't seem like she would be stopping anytime soon.

"Hanji," I called through the door. "What else do you want?" I asked desperately.

"Sir, I've never met a..." She paused, and her voice dropped to a whisper loud enough so just I could hear it, "a dragon. I just wanna ask you questions, I promise! Then I'll leave you be!" She said. I sighed in defeat. I just wanted to get this over with.

I unlocked the door and opened it for her. She immediately walked into my living room and I joined her, sitting on the couch next to her. Not willing to waste any more time, she dived straight into a load of questions, and I tried answering all of them before she cut me off to ask another. They were all based off my kind, some supposed to be a little more private than others. She even squeezed some questions about Levi in there.

At some point, she asked where the bathroom was and I led her to it. She followed my directions, not noticing that her phone fell out of her back pocket. I didn't think much of it until it started ringing.

'Grumpy Pants' flashed as the called ID, and I questioned whether or not I should answer it. It wouldn't be appropriate to answer somebody else's phone, especially not my student's, so I don't know what had gotten into me when I picked up the phone and answered it.

"Uh...hello?" There was silence on the other side before there was a click and the line went dead. I shrugged it off and put the phone back where I found it. 

Hanji came back and picked up her phone before excusing herself, saying Levi would kill her if she wasn't home soon. It was brand new information for me that Levi lived with Hanji and seriously wondered how she hadn't murdered her yet. I bid her goodbye politely and sighed, almost in relief, when she disappeared from my sight.

She wasn't exactly annoying, just overwhelming.

* * *

"Where the fuck where you?" Levi asked as soon as Hanji walked through the front door. The taller girl was panting heavily, as if she had been running, but still flashed an innocent smile at her friend.

"Just went for a walk." She lied, and Levi saw right through it. She glared at her with piercing grey eyes, seemingly pinning her in place.

"Why were you with Eren?" She had a dangerous aura about her, and Hanji decided it would be best if she didn't drag this obvious lie any further. 

Sighing, she said, "I just needed to ask him a few questions. Really, it's nothing you should worry about." A half-truth. 

Levi wasn't satisfied, and she continued to glare at Hanji.

"You know, I could get you to tell me everything. Even if you don't want to." She warned. 

"There's nothing, really. Let it go, Levi."

Levi wasn't going to let it go. It usually didn't bother her that much but she couldn't help the anger boiling her blood.

"I'm not letting it go, Hanji!" She snapped, her fists clenched at her sides. Hanji didn't understand why Levi was making such a big deal about this, but she spoke in a soft, soothing voice.

"Levi," She stepped towards her, getting close enough to put a hand on her shoulder. Levi was always volatile, but she had gotten it under control years ago. It wasn't meant to be a problem anymore. "I promise, I'll tell you if you just relax." 

"Why were you at Eren's? I told you I would tell you everything, so why did you go to him?" Levi pressed.  _Oh, so that's what this is about._ _  
_

Trust was possibly the most important thing for Levi, and if she believed that she had proven herself trustworthy but was not trusted, it would definitely hurt her. Apparently, she was the angry-when-hurt type.

"That's not it, I promise! I just wanted information on dragons." Still a half-truth. Hanji couldn't build up the courage to tell her that she spoke to Eren about the love potion. She thought it be best if she kept that part a secret.

Levi studied her best friend, looking for hints of dishonesty in her facial expressions. She was mostly tired and confused, so she let it go and turned around, heading straight to the lab where she released her pent up anger at her reflection. She burned it, shred it, scratched it, drowned it. Everything she could think of.

It was unsurprisingly satisfying. She noticed Hanji walk down into the room as she appeared in the mirror, and she beheaded her reflection. She real Hanji seemed surprised, and perhaps slightly hurt, although the expression melted away to understanding when she noticed Levi was doing the same to her own reflection.

It was understandable that Levi had so many emotions bottled up; she never bothered to express herself. It was good to let it out. So Hanji remained within her best friend's vision in the mirror, watching as she did unspeakable things to her.

She was sweating by the time she cast the last spell. Her breathing was ragged and her entire body sagging with exhaustion. Her short hair clung to her face, the shaved area shimmering with sweat.

Before Hanji could tell her to go get some rest, she collapsed onto the ground in a heap of boneless limbs.


	8. Beneath My Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Control only lasts so long.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to get really nervous about this story. Idk why it's stressing me out.  
> Also, sorry for the long wait and short chapter (is it? I wanted to make it longer)

"Fucking hell," were Levi's first words as she woke up in Hanji's bed after passing out. Thankfully, it was nighttime and Hanji hadn't turned the lights on, so the headache that was threatening to come hopefully won't bother her too much. But she could barely move. Her body felt run-down and overused, just on the brink of complete uselessness. 

She called for Hanji is a low voice, still wincing at the pain it inflicted. The girl ran into the room, having to grab onto the doorframe to keep from falling. 

"Yay! I thought you were dead or something." Hanji whispered. Levi appreciated the volume of her voice and hummed in acknowledgement. 

"You wish." Hanji's nearly-permanent grin widened, and she handed Levi some Advil. 

"How long have I been out?" Levi asked whilst swallowing the medication.

"Just a few hours. You look like shit, though."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

Levi wanted to ask about Eren. She wanted to know what else they were talking about, because Hanji sometimes could not keep her mouth shut, and being around Eren would surely do nothing to change that. It didn't bother her that much, though. She felt she could deal with not knowing, it was just that little hint of curiosity slithering into her mind. Exhaustion kept her quiet, though.

The throbbing in her head dulled slightly, but there was still some heaviness in her body, and a pain she could not exactly place. 

When Levi realised she could not get up, she decided against trying all together and let her eyes droop. With slurred thoughts, she noted it was Saturday tomorrow, and she would be able to sleep in. 

* * *

**Eren's POV**

Saturday morning, I was feeling significantly better. 

I got out of bed easily and made myself tea for the first time in a week. As I waited for the water to boil, I dialled Erwin's number and told him I will be able to make it tomorrow. I hung up and poured the tea into a cup, watching the steam slither into the air.

While I sat in my living room staring at the ceiling, I decided to go for a walk outside. After being bedridden for an entire week, I felt the need to get some fresh air, and the poisoned air that reached my windows was not enough. I finished my drink and put the mug in the sink to be washed later. 

In my room, I picked out my regular jogging outfit and a water bottle on my way out. I was already feeling annoyingly unfit and i couldn't let it last any longer.

The weather was warm, with an occasional breeze and the lingering smell of rain. Winter was coming by fast, and I could never be ready enough for it. The cold was never a problem for me, it was just the difficulty of it all. I hated the snow blocking the roads, and the constricting layers to avoid freezing my balls off. Winter was always a season I wanted to skip.

I stopped near the school, taking a sip of my water, before continuing my jog. Eventually, I came by a park and slipped into it. Thankfully, it was empty--and large--with granted me with a long walkway all for myself. I placed my water bottle on the side to serve as a checkpoint before speeding into a sprint, basking in the air that enveloped around me, its arms warming but cool at the same time. For a minute, I wondered if I could fly, but in the unlikely case that I could, I could not risk anybody witnessing that.

I passed by the gate I had come in from, and I knew the bottle I had placed should be just around the corner. With the euphoria trapping me, and my mind clouded with it, I did not notice the small figure in my path until I sent it flying onto the grass.

"Shit!" she yelled. I was pulled out of my hazy state and swore as I helped Levi up. She was yanked her hand out of my grip when she was standing upright and glared up at me. "Did the cold turn you blind or some shit?" She huffed. 

"Sorry." I said sheepishly, rubbing my chest where her head had hit. I noticed with some surprise that her hair was pulled back with a black headband that blended with her hair color. It was a slightly odd look, with most of the back of her head shaved, but it showed off her face well. Sure, she was my student and an attraction towards her would be inappropriate, but it didn't mean I couldn't appreciate some things about her.

"Fuck yeah, you are." She mumbled. I quirked an eyebrow at her, and she mirrored my expression. "What?"

"Do you always cuss this much?" She scoffed and averted her gaze, suddenly finding interest in our surroundings. It was silent for a while before she shrugged. "Why? Do you find it appalling?" She asked quizzically.

"No, but others might." 

"Then that's their problem. I shouldn't change the way I speak for those fucktards." Her gaze stopped on something and nodded in its direction. "Is that your bottle?" I turned to see she was motioning towards my abandoned bottle. I nodded and waved a dismissive hand at it. 

"I didn't really take you for a feminist," I state with a questioning gaze. Her head jerked my way and her permanent glare turned more intense. It put me on edge, and I wanted to take it back.

"I am not. I just know my own fucking rights." I raised my hands in a defeated gesture, and she sighed. "I heard Hanji spoke to you yesterday." Her dangerous gaze softened and it was only slightly softer than her usual one.

"More like broke into my house. What did she tell you about it?"

"Not much. That's why I am asking you." Cautious about what to tell her, I hesitated.

"Sh-she just asked...questions." I was a terrible liar, and yet I still do it. Armin always told me I couldn't lie for shit. Levi seemed to notice this, too, and narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

"What kinds of questions?" 

"About my...kind." 

"And? What else?" She seemed almost desperate now, her voice reaching a higher pitch. 

"Nothing. That's it." I lied. She became angry, her face contorting almost in a disgusted manner. 

"Don't fucking lie to me." She warned through clenched teeth. I could see the way her fingers twitched and my own did the same, almost instinctively. 

"Are you threatening me?" I asked incredulously. She didn't reply, and it was as if I was shoved back, but she hadn't even touched me. I stepped back to avoid falling onto my ass before she sent another one, and I stepped back again. I had just enough time and stability to notice that it was some sort of waves that she continuously sent off. Even the plants behind her shifted with every one. "Levi, calm down." 

She didn't even acknowledge me as she kept pushing me further until I was enough that I would have to shout for my voice to reach her. We were both silent after that, both panting. Her breaths were becoming more relaxed with each one, while mine remained quick as I waited for any kind of attack. My muscles were tense, my heartbeat restless in its race out of my chest. The air was suspenseful. I did not even wonder why she was angry at me when I hadn't done anything worth this much rage. I had to admit I had quite the temper too, but I had gotten that--and a lot of things--under control a while ago.

Eventually, she straightened up and said it loud enough for me to hear, "I am calm." before walking out of the park, hands in her pockets. My wide eyes followed her form as she walked in the direction of her house, eyes cast downward. I watched her until she was far enough that I couldn't see her teeth worrying on her thin lips. 

People began filing into the park and I took that as my cue to leave. Grabbing my water bottle, I nearly sprinted back to my apartment, not really in the mood to continue my jog. Besides, I needed to call the substitute--what was his name? Jean?--to see how far the classes had gotten so I could prepare Monday's lesson. 

* * *

 

I dreaded Monday, just like I did every week, but this one was special and far more dreadful. Levi would probably pretend nothing happen and ignore my class as she always does, but I did not want to face her. She would probably throw a glare my way every chance she got. But I was more afraid of myself than I was of her. I had no control sometimes, and I would not be able to do anything if my 'other self' tries to kill her. And attacking her on school ground was possibly my biggest fear. So every time I saw her, I would turn the other way, pushing my buried anger back under years of trying to control it.

The only time I could not escape the student was when she walked into my class, her face contorted in a scowl, not unusual. I felt the anger I've tried to keep hidden crawl to the surface, reaching just beneath my skin. I didn't know how much longer I could hold it back, but I was putting most of my effort on it. I could not help but feel angry at her. Firstly for snapping at me for no reason, and then for walking away. 

I didn't acknowledge her throughout the entire period, skipping over her when I scanned the class to make sure everybody was there. 

It was at the end of the day that my eyes landed on her, and I felt whatever control I had left slip through my fingers. Last I remember was her fingers twitching, and mine doing the same.

* * *

**Levi's POV**

_Golden eyes, Golden eyes, Golden eyes,_ was all I could think. They were full of a fire I had yet to forget, and a lust for something I am not willing to spill. My hand twitched with the knowledge of upcoming danger, and my sight sharpened around the man. I noticed his hand did the same, and suddenly he was striding towards me, his pace quick and purposeful. With a glance at our surroundings, I realized that nobody had their eyes on us and Mikasa and Armin were still inside. I wasn't sure whether I should be thankful or worried that there was nobody to see Eren approaching me like he knew I had no means of escape. I had barely just stepped back when he grabbed me by the arm, his nails digging into my pale skin. I didn't protest as he pulled me away from school grounds, out of sight, before shoving me into a wall. I cussed at the contact and shuffled back to my feat. 

He was heading towards me again, but I used the same barriers I had used the other day. It pushed him back just enough for me to regain my stability before he began to attack. I wanted to tell him to snap out of it, but it was sure to be useless. His eyes were not even fixed on me, he just stared right past me, but somehow he still noticed my every move and moved according to it. Heat radiated from him in waves, each hotter than the previous, every one burning my skin. 

When it didn't seem like he would be making the first move, I took the initiative. I cast a black fog around him, making him completely blind, before rushing into it and throwing a punch at the first solid object I came across. A crack accompanied the action, followed by a grunt and another shove. I fell back but caught myself before my ass hit the ground. Suddenly, flames burst through the thick fog, burning it away and catching onto the sleeve of my shirt. With more cussing on my tongue, sounding more desperate and panicked this time, I slapped at the fire until it disappeared, leaving the burnt-through sleeve. 

Eren chuckled darkly at the scene, and before I knew what was happening, he had me pushed against the wall, the hands stilling my wrists so, very hot. Slowly, it burned through my skin, and I could feel the skin around it blistering. I would not have been surprised if he pulled off his hands and my melted skin came out with it. A choked cry escaped my lips as he refused to let go, my skin burning, stinging. Nearing numbness, but never truly granting me such mercy. 

"Eren!" I spoke desperately, my voice cracking with the pain spreading to my body. The heat was running throughout my entire being, and I could feel it burning through my veins. There was no doubt it was going to kill me if I let him go on. "Eren! Let go!" I yelled. He didn't comply, his grip tightening on my wrists. I was sobbing, but no tears escaped my eyes. My cries were growing more desperate, louder. I stopped struggling long ago, but I was not giving in. It felt more like facing death and defying it. Now, I was coming to terms with the fact that I was going to die under the hands of my teacher. My teacher who I had slipped a love potion to.  _The love potion that wasn't working._

My vision became blurry, whether it was the effect of tears or something else was beyond me. Soon enough, black began to border my vision, thickening over Eren's face that was only inches away. His name turned to whimpers between shallow breathing as I slipped into a slumber-like state. I wasn't sure if I was dying, but in case I was, I couldn't let my eyes shut. I struggled to keep them open, feeling like I was carrying the weight of the both of us on my lids.

I hardly saw anything, but felt Eren being pulled off me. Two hazy figures appeared, one of them much closer than the other, who was standing over Eren, holding him down with their leg. He was struggling, but then the figure extended their hand and he fell limp. I imagine my body did the same as my vision was gone altogether, along with my consciousness.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any mistakes. Also, I will be travelling in a couple of days for a week or two so I may not update for a while. Although, I will try to write a chapter or two before I go.


	9. Silence and Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anger is a funny thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it's short.

Levi liked to think she had control over herself for the most part. She told herself that control was also in the way she pushed her smiles back, or maintained her bored expression even when her blood was boiling. She admits, sometimes she does lose herself, and perhaps yell at Hanji to shut up or throw a punch at those assholes who wouldn't leave her alone. But never,  _ever,_ did she feel the urge to brutally murder someone... until she woke up to the face of the man who nearly killed her.

When her eyes opened up to the dim lighting of Hanji's lab, she did not quite feel awake. It was the same worn-out feeling as waking up in the middle of the night and not being sure whether or not you are actually awake. But then she spotted Eren in the corner of the room, and she couldn't care less where she was. She made a move to sit up, but was roughly pushed back by Hanji, who had a frown on her face and her lips were pursed into a worrying thin line.

"Hanji, why the hell did you let him in here?!" Levi yelled, her voice croaky and sore. She eyed Eren accusingly, but he didn't even flinch. He stared back at her, his expression unreadable and his posture in between relaxed and stiff. It did nothing to calm Levi one bit, and she only felt more rage as she searched his features for any sign of remorse and found none. Somehow, she wasn't surprised. And yet, it still managed to affect her. 

She attempted to move once more, but this time it wasn't Hanji who pushed her back. Mikasa appeared in her line of sight, her gaze showing worry behind the disapproval. 

"Hanji just needs to check your temperature." She stated calmly, easing Levi back into a lying position. A thermometer was forced into her mouth and she let it under her tongue, waiting impatiently for the thing to beep. When it did, Levi spat the object out and watched as Hanji picked it up and her frown softened.

"It's better." She mumbled to nobody in particular. 

"Good." Levi mumbled back before throwing the covers back and jumping out of the bed, ignoring the protests of her body as she marched over to Eren. She twisted her hands into the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the wall, mirroring his actions from the other day. Nobody stopped her, and she took that as an opportunity to do as she wished. What pissed her off even more, was Eren's lack of reaction. He let her push him against the wall, his body like a rag doll in her hands.

"Do something, you shit!" She yelled. His gaze was on her, but it showed absolutely no emotion. His pupils were dilated, in a dreamlike state, almost lifeless. Levi would have thought her was dead if it wasn't for his ragged breathing and uneven rise and fall of his chest. The witch calmed down a bit, her grip on him loosening. She heard a quiet sigh behind her, but paid it no mind. 

Eren still did nothing. He stared at her, looking at her, as if her body was a serious of thick bricks that he couldn't possibly burn through with his eyes so he just opts to stare at them. He was staring  _at_ her, not through her. 

Fueled with juvenile rage, Levi punched him in the jaw, hearing a satisfying crack and and a gasp from probably the same person who had sighed only moments ago. That was not enough though. Despite the stinging pain lingering in her knuckles, Levi threw another lunch, leaving bloody lips. Three more punches and Levi cursed, her voice echoing against the walls of the vast room. 

"I was fucking kill you! Fuck!" A disapproving grunt came from Mikasa, and Levi heard the familiar voice telling her swearing was not very feminine. Neither was yelling. At some point, she had stopped caring, but that didn't stop the disappointment that came with every time Levi did either or both of those things. 

"Why isn't he doing anything?!" She yelled, turning to Hanji. The teen shrugged, her gaze shifting from and to both Levi's eyes. 

"He's been like that since he woke up. We hadn't heard him speak since." 

"How long have we been out?" Levi asked in an attempt to calm herself down.

"You've been out for 2, you had horribly high fever. Moblit helped though, that's why you healed quickly." Moblit was Hanji's boyfriend. Never seen the guy, but he always seemed to appear when Levi couldn't. From what she heard, he was just as good as Hanji with potions, maybe just better. He also preferred to focus on medical potions, so it didn't surprise Levi to hear he was the one who treated her. "Eren just woke up four hours ago. Mikasa had put him under a spell that was meant to last only a few hours. At some point, he slipped into a coma-like state before it could wear off, but then he woke up but he's still as unresponsive as he was in the coma." 

Levi's chuckle held no emotion, almost bitter. She stepped away from Eren, ignoring the pain that was beginning to let its presence known in he'd body. With all the trouble she's been causing her body, she surprised it hasn't given up yet. 

"So, he's the one who tried to kill me, and he's in an even worse state. Nice." 

"You know he didn't mean to," Mikasa cut in, her voice soft. "He can't control it." 

"Are you defending him?" Levi asked incredulously. 

"He wasn't aware of what he was doing. Do you really think he would've done what he did if he was in a regular state?"

The anger that had begun to die down was boiling once more in Levi. She clenched her fists and swallowed thickly, her eyes sharp and burning Mikasa's skin. And yet, Mikasa didn't react.

"It doesn't matter what state he was in, he attacked me for no reason--" She was interrupted by her cousin's voice, which had risen in volume.

"How would you know that?" 

"Because I didn't do anything!" Levi yelled. She realized she probably sounded like a child, but she couldn't care less. 

"I highly doubt that." Mikasa mumbled before turning her back to Levi as she walked towards the stairs leading to Hanji's room. Levi's growl bordered on beastly, and she was at Mikasa's heel. She managed to grab the older woman before she reached the stairs.

"Why are you defending him?" She asked, grabbing Mikasa's shirt.

"I'm not." She replied, refusing to face the younger one. Levi was not dumb, she could see right through the obvious lie, and a couple of things clicked into place right then and there.

"When you told me to stay away from him," Levi began slowly. "It wasn't because he could hurt me. Was it, Mikasa?" 

The woman spoken to flinched, as if the verbal attack had been physical. She didn't reply, but her head hung, causing her hair to cover her face. 

"Levi, let go." And Levi did. She released her grip on Mikasa's shirt.

* * *

The next day, Levi felt significantly better despite the random pangs of pain, and she went to school. Eren remained unresponsive, so Mikasa had to call in for him, and the substitute was back. Everything was relatively normal at school. 

Every day after classes, Levi would go home with Hanji and sit in her lab as she ran a few tests on Eren. She tried a few physical reaction tests and they all seemed to work, but he never voiced anything, even when pain was inflicted upon him. 

"Well, he doesn't seem completely dead. Not to me, at least." Hanji stated nearly a week after the incident. Levi hummed, and Hanji continued. "I've been leaving food for him in the morning, before school and before I go out, and every time I come back, the plate is empty. He obviously hasn't had any sleep, though, if you can tell by the circles under his eyes and awfully pale skin. But he doesn't seem to be getting as thin as he should be if he wasn't eating."

"So even though he isn't completely responsive, he isn't dead. Really, you could've just said that. No need for a long-ass lecture." Levi complained. Hanji shrugged and walked past Levi, probably heading up to get some more food for Eren. The witch remained seated, her eyes locked on Eren, he stared at the ground at his feet. He was also sitting down, his posture poor and mannequin-like in its stillness.

"It's almost like you shut down. Somehow." Levi mumbled, more to herself than to him. She didn't think he would really be listening. "Is it because of what you've done? I wouldn't be surprised; you seem like the kind of guy to feel guilty enough to something like this. To shut everything out." Levi's eyes narrowed when she noted the twitching of his fingers, and she almost missed him lowering his head further. "Is that why you overdosed? It's stupid. What you're doing now and the overdose, I mean." Levi heard Hanji's footsteps stomping down the stairs and quickly said, "I haven't forgiven you yet. But you'd make things easier if you just talked to me." 

Too distracted by Hanji appearing at the stairs, Levi didn't notice the microscopical shake of Eren head. 

Hanji handed Levi a cup of tea and put a cookie on Eren's lap before she settled on a third chair, sipping her coffee. They sat like that for a while, watching Eren, waiting for him to do something. He didn't, and Levi was forced to leave before midnight, leaving Eren sitting motionless on that chair, with Hanji watching him for just a while longer. 

 


	10. More or Less Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the official ereri begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been having the worst case of writer's block. I kinda had to force this out so sorry if it's shit. (Hey look an accidental pun)  
> Levi is an emotional mess here. Sort of angsty chapter.

_Gold._

_I watched the flames sway before me, crackling every now and then. It was slowly burning through my skin, leaving blisters in places. An occasional gold that I almost recognized danced with the red, and my skin burned just a little more whenever it appeared. It seemed to be getting closer, until suddenly, it had its hands around my neck, choking me. I struggled to breathe against its pressure and heat, staring at the area where its eyes were meant to be. If I hadn't been gazing there, I would have missed the flicker of emerald that I could not forget. The emerald that I had looked away from so many times because I knew if I didn't resist, I would definitely never look away. The color flickered a few more times before it became permanent, seemingly staring at me. It held so much emotion, it was so vivid. I could almost make out remorse within those emotions, when the hands around my neck tightened, and all the air in me was out with a final gasp._

I shot up in my bed, both hands shooting up to my neck. It was still marred with the scarred, burned skin Eren had left there. The bumpy, tender flesh felt gross under my touch, and I pulled away, disgusted. My breathing was ragged and shaky and shallow, my hands trembling slightly and my lower lip quivering. My eyes stung with imminent tears and my heart was racing, a familiar pain growing in my chest. I shakily backed myself against the headboard of my bed and stared into the darkness, searching for any imminent danger. My throat constricted and my head spun before the first sob escaped through my lips. 

* * *

"Miss Ackerman," Mikasa turned around at the sound of her name being called and saw Mr. Smith calmly walking towards her, his posture and voice professional, as always. "Could I speak to you for a moment?" He asked politely. Assuming--and hoping--it was about something that included her class, the teacher nodded and followed Mr. Smith to his office. He shut the door quietly and turned back to her.

"I just wanted to ask you how Eren's been doing," he started, sitting in his leather chair. "He hasn't shown up for nearly 3 weeks, and he usually calls in sick himself. It seems odd that he would send you to me instead. I am worried about him." Mikasa pursed her lips, already dreading this conversation, knowing it would last long. She hadn't worked out anything to offer as an explanation for Erwin. She simply told him Eren had come down with a terrible fever and wouldn't be able to come to school for a while. She should have expected to be put in this position. She lifted the scarf around her neck so it hid her mouth and nose. She usually didn't wear it to school, but she had been under a lot of stress lately, thinking about Eren, and she needed it securely wrapped around her neck. 

"What are you accusing me of, sir?" She finally questioned. The corner of Erwin's lips quirked up and he shook his head. He seemed amused with Mikasa's question, and a little chuckle escaped his lips.

"I am not accusing you of anything, miss Ackerman. I am just wondering what is  _really_ wrong with Eren. It must be much more dangerous than what you told me." Mikasa paused for a moment, and Erwin was about to push further when she spoke up.

"He's not dead, if that's what you're asking."

"Although I am glad to hear that, that's not what I am asking." Erwin stated calmly. "What is so dangerous about his state that you wouldn't tell me about it?" Mikasa's gaze fell to the ground, and she shook her head microscopically, telling herself she won't tell him. She couldn't. To tell him about this would mean betraying everything she was taught. Not only wizards and witches, but she will also be betraying Eren by revealing his secret. Besides, they could both get fired, and Levi would be expelled. She wouldn't let that happen to any of them.

"Mr. Smith, we are all allowed to have our secrets. Is it too much to ask you to let us keep them?" The amusement disappeared from Erwin's eyes, and the smile went with it. His eyes widened slightly before regaining his composure. 

"We  _are_ all allowed to have secrets," he confirmed. "but to keep them is not always up to us." His tone held no room for negotiation, just authority that matched him more than it should. Mikasa did not reply, keeping her eyes on the ground below her, not really looking at it, but more focused on her situation. She was still determined to keep the secrets to herself, but it didn't seem like she had a choice anymore. "Miss Ackerman, I am sure you realize this could risk Mr. Jaeger's job, right?" Mikasa nodded, biting her lower lip. Erwin sighed and sat back in his chair, eyeing the woman before him, almost analyzing her. 

"I will give you both a week. If neither of you give me an answer before then, I will have to fire both of you. Understood?" Mikasa nearly sighed in relief, when his words rang in her head. She nodded solemnly.

"Yes, sir."

* * *

Hanji was busy making Eren a sandwich and didn't notice Levi walking in behind her until she spoke up.

"Is that for the bastard downstairs?" Hanji nodded, humming a vague tune. "Thought you would've given up on him by now." She murmured. Hanji chuckled, turning to face her best friend. Her expression faded a bit when she saw the darker bags under Levi's eyes, but she didn't question it, bringing the smile back to her face. 

"He's actually still eating. I think he's just traumatized, somewhat." Hanji chirped, putting all the ingredients back into the respective places before picking up the plate with a sandwich on it. Levi followed when she gestured for her to, and they both headed to Hanji's room.

"Somewhat?" Levi questioned. They trotted down the creaky stairs to the lab and Levi immediately spotted Eren in the same chair she sees him in every time she came down here. She briefly wondered if it hurt his ass, and cringed at the thought as she imagined the pain. 

"He should be responsive soon enough. Right now, he realizes there are people around him and such, but he just refuses to interact. Or more, his brain refuses to." She set down the plate on a chair next to Eren before turning to sit on another one. Levi did the same, pulling a chair from a far corner and sitting on it. It wasn't completely uncomfortable, but probably would be if one spent weeks doing nothing but sitting on it. It was silent for a few minutes before Levi snickered. 

"I can't believe I just noticed this, but how creepy would it sound if you told somebody that you have your teacher locked in your basement slash lab?" Hanji raised her eyebrow at the side of Levi's head, not used to her being like this. Again, she didn't question it and opted instead for staring at Eren, as if questioning him. She wanted to ask why Levi hadn't come to school today, but she assumed for the same reason she had darker circles under her eyes and acted odd. 

"How are you feeling?" Hanji asked, deeming the question safe enough for now. Levi would tell her when she was comfortable enough to, and pushing it would do nothing but irritate her. 

"Like shit." her voice was suddenly heavy with an emotion Hanji couldn't pinpoint, but it still broke her heart. She chuckled nervously and sneaked a quick peak at her best friend. Levi was silently gazing at Eren, even though he was facing downwards. Her gaze was soft, almost longing. Just from this, Hanji could tell Eren was the cause of whatever Levi was going through. It kind of surprised her, since he was also the cause of the ugly mark Levi had to cover up with a scarf every day. 

With no spoken reason, Hanji stood up and went to her room, leaving Levi alone with Eren. She didn't complain, and moved her chair closer to Eren, leaning forward to see his face. It was void of emotion, his eyes blank and lifeless. The shining emerald that Levi often avoided became a dull green that looked more like seaweed. 

"Eren," she said softly. With two fingers under his chin, she pushed it upwards so he wasn't facing the ground and stared into his eyes to check if he was even looking at her. He wasn't. Still, with the hope that he could hear her, she spoke. "I don't think I can forgive you for what you did, but if you don't tell me why you did it, I can't tell if I should." Levi recalled all the memories that seemed so distant now, and tears brimmed her eyelids. She had thought long and hard for the past few weeks and she understood that Eren couldn't control what he did when he was in that state, but she refused to forgive him for letting his emotions get the best of him. Still, more than anything, she wanted him back to normal. She would never admit it out loud, not even to him, but she missed him. And perhaps she was more fond of him than she thought.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't come to terms with the fact that he could be gone forever, and she couldn't even move on. Even if there was nothing but a pointless rivalry between them, it hurt her to let go of him, or just forget about everything that included him. Although he was the object of most of her nightmares nowadays, and he was the man that left scars and blisters all over her body.

"I don't even know why I'm getting so emotional," Levi mumbled to herself, rubbing her eyes. "I'm just worried. And scared." 

"Eren--" Levi was cut off by footsteps heading down the stairs, getting louder by the second. Mikasa appeared at the foot of the steps seconds later, scarf hiding the majority of her face. 

"I need to speak with Eren." She said, far from calm, but the emotion was not even close to edging on desperate. Levi was sure her eyes were still red from the tearing up and all the rubbing, but she ignored it opting for acting apathetic.

"Good luck with that. Holler at me if he talks back." Levi replied, standing up and saluting with two fingers to her brow before heading up the stairs. Part of her was glad Mikasa had interrupted, otherwise she would have poured her heart out which was completely out of character. The other part of her wanted to continue talking to Eren in hopes of getting him to react just the tiniest bit. 

As Levi went up the stairs, footsteps slow and quiet, she couldn't help but feel a burning in her chest when she thought of Mikasa being alone with Eren. It was also the first time the woman requested to speak to him, which made it slightly odd that she would want to speak to him now urgently. 

 Stopping just at the top of the staircase, Levi sat down, leaning forward slightly to hear Mikasa's voice better. The other woman's voice held no emotion.

"Eren, you selfish bastard." Were the first words Levi heard, and she frowned. "I know you feel bad about this, but it wasn't entirely your fault. Levi is also partially to blame, but you don't see her shutting us out.

"I get it, you nearly killed her and you feel guilty, but we've all forgiven you. Do you really think she will forgive you if you run away from this, though?" Her voice was rising in volume, emotion seeping in and out of her tone. "Eren--" Mikasa suddenly fell silent, a shuffle of fabric following. Levi stood up from her sitting position, silently walking a few steps down the stairs before crouching at the railing. She could hear them better now. 

Levi could hear a low whining sound that resembled somebody crying and her heart sped up, blood rushing in her veins when she suspected it was Eren. She wanted to run down there and confirm her suspicions, but Mikasa thought she was upstairs. Besides, she could very well be wrong, and it could be Mikasa crying, not Eren.

"Eren--Eren look at me. Please look at me." Mikasa pleaded. Her voice wasn't thick with tears, but it cracked and she was seemingly on the verge of sobbing. "But you're fine now, right? You fine, Eren. Don't do that again. You scared me. You scared us all."

With that, Levi grew tired of waiting and instantly shot down the stairs, not waiting for either person to notice her before enveloping Eren in a tight embrace. She held him there, feeling his tears wetting her shirt but she paid it no mind, opting for murmuring the same phrase in his ear over and over again.

"I'm so fucking mad at you. But don't do that again, you bastard."

 


	11. Tea Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren and Levi have a little chat that could mean something more in the long run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So uhh... Please don't kill me.  
> I know I've been gone for too long, but I haven't been able to write anything for a while. I think I'm back with the flow of this fic though, so you don't have to worry about me disappearing again for this long. I will also try to make the chapters longer, since there will be more packed in there.
> 
> This is such a slow build, but trust me, we're getting there.

Eventually, Hanji had to pull Levi away from Eren. He was much calmer, but still refused to look any of them in the eye. They all sat in silence for a few minutes. None of them knew why, but the quiet was much needed.

Levi and Hanji sat in front of him, while Mikasa was beside him. She had one hand on his thigh, next to his. Levi tried not to stare at Mikasa's pale hand so close to Eren's tan skin, but she couldn't help but feel the urge to get just as close. She also began questioning her cousin's relationship with Eren. They could be close friends, but with how little Levi knows about Eren and how much Mikasa avoided talking about him, she doubted they were just friends. 

Levi's thoughts were treading dangerous territory, when Eren's shaky voice shattered the dead air.

"I can't go back to school." He said. Startled, everyone looked up. Hanji's eyes were wide, her rimless glasses lower on her nose. "I'm a danger to everybody over there. Students, teachers..." Nobody disagreed, so he sighed shakily. "I am so sorry, Levi." He glanced up for only a moment before looking away in shame. Eren leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs. Mikasa removed her hand only to replace it on his back, rubbing soothingly. Levi's fingers twitched. 

"Stop apologizing," Levi finally said, "you couldn't control it, could you?"

He shook his head. 

"Eren," Hanji began, "what you are--"

"What  _it_ is." he interrupted, jaw clenching. "It's not me, I promise."

"What it is," Hanji corrected, "is a very powerful being. You need to learn to control it, otherwise it will be a danger to you and everyone around you." 

"Or we could just get rid of it." 

There was no reply and Eren looked up, expression frantic. "Hanji!"

"I don't know! Maybe we can, but I don't know." She bit her lip, "I'll need time to figure it out, but until then you need to at least try and control it."

"Alright, fine. Can I go home? I need to get a few things done."

* * *

** Levi's POV **

As I put on my shoes and fixed my scarf at the door, I overheard Mikasa talking to Eren.

"I could walk you home."

"Mika, it's fine. I'll call you when I get home."

"But--"

"Mikasa."

There was no other sound. I quickly tied my shoes and stood up just in time to be at eye-level to Eren's collarbone. 

"You heading out too?" He asked. 

"Yeah, it's been a long day for me." He nodded and opened the door, holding it open for me as I exited. 

We were walking side-by-side for a while, which wasn't odd considering our apartments were in the same direction. However, when we came at the intersection where we had to part ways, he stopped. I did, too. He opened his mouth and closed it several times and I rolled my eyes.

"If you're about to apologize again, please stop." He smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. As he did so, his gaze shifted to my neck and he looked away again. 

"Does it hurt?" He asked. I shook my head.

"Not anymore. It's healing pretty quickly, if you were wondering." I added. Eren only nodded slowly. 

"Well, I have to go. Need to give Erwin a call. Are you coming tomorrow?"

"Coming where?"

"Hanji's. She wants me over tomorrow night."

"I'll see." With that, we parted ways and I had to fight the urge to turn around. He was far away enough that I could no longer hear his footsteps, but I felt his presence, no matter how far, behind me. It was most probably triggered by fear.

* * *

 The following evening, Eren was already at Hanji's by the time I arrived. Surprisingly, Mikasa wasn't and I briefly wondered what could have possibly kept her from coming. She never missed a chance to be near Eren and I didn't think now would be any different. In fact, she has all the more reason to want to be around him as much as possible. 

"Levi!" Hanji yelled and I raised an eyebrow at her excitement. "Perfect timing!" Eren was lying on a makeshift bed formed with 2 metal tables and a sheet over them. His head shot up at my name and he smiled nervously. 

"Hanji, is this really necessary?" He asked but Hanji paid him no mind.

"What are you even doing to him?" I fumbled with my scarf as I asked this, but let my hands dropwhen I noticed Eren's eyes locked on the fabric around my neck.

"Well, I need to help him control this...ability." Eren sighed behind her. "And to do so, I need to understand it. So I am comparing his health to a human's." She explained and I nodded. It could be helpful, but if Eren doesn't put any effort into trying to control it, it would be nothing but a waste of time.

"What do have do far?" 

"Only that he has a very high body temperature. Beyond feverish, but he feels fine. He's not showing any symptoms either." 

"So now she wants to see how hot I can actually get." Eren added, his tone unhappy.

"His skin's heat alone nearly killed you, and it did leave that nasty mark," both Eren and I flinched, although mine was slightly more concealed. "And the way he snapped, seemingly out of nowhere does suggest that it could be pent up frustration or just emotion that was channelled into--" she was practically vibrating with excitement now, a manic grin across her face. Luckily for me and Eren, who looked more guilty as Hanji talked on, Mikasa walked in. 

"What did I miss?" 

"Mikasa! Perfect timing!" I sighed, exasperated as she began again from the start. After excusing myself, I left the basement. 

In the kitchen, I put some water to boil and began preparing some tea. Fortunately, Hanji's uncle was out of town until next week for some work, so we could be a little more comfortable around the house. 

However, when I felt somebody sneaking up behind me, I spun around nearly broke Eren's nose.

"Shit!"

"Tch." I turned around and continued to prepare my tea, pretending my heart is not still beating faster than it's supposed to. 

"You seem cranky." He commented and I shrugged. "I'm not." I replied

"Oh, really? What's up with that scowl?" He imitates what I suppose was an exaggerated version of my scowl.

"That's my default facial expression." I offered. He hummed in thought and then poked my side. 

"There's some pretty thick tension, though. Or is it just me?" 

"Just you." 

"You're difficult."

"You're whiny." 

"You're younger than me."

"Doesn't feel like it." I finished preparing my tea and was wiping down the surface I just used. I successfully avoided looking anywhere else in the kitchen, lest I go into a cleaning spree I cannot control. "Mikasa still downstairs?"

"Yup." He followed me into the living room and sat down a respectable distance away from me on the couch. "Hanji's talking her ear off. I don't mind, though. Don't think my ass can take that table anymore." I snorted and he smiled, despite the pained pinch of his face.

"Is this ever gonna be over?" He didn't have to elaborate for me to understand what he was referring to. We remained silent as I pondered over the answer.

"It could be over a lot sooner if you want it to be. Or it could drag on forever. Either way, a huge part of it is up to you."

"I think I get what you're trying to say." Whether or not he actually understood what I was saying, it didn't matter. What he chose and what he did were not necessarily going to be the same. He didn't have to know that yet, though.

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you have any suggestions for one-shots or multi-chapter fics, just comment them and I'll be happy to write them.  
> Also, fem! Levi as my icon. I can't find its original artist so tell me if you know them. But credits to whoever drew it!


End file.
